The Project
A personal problem: I sleep later than my roommate and needed a light source that wouldn't wake her. The solution became an acrylic LED sign — an Aquarius zodiac symbol laser-cut from a single sheet, mounted on a handmade wooden stand lit from below by soldered LED strips.
The iterative process mattered here. The first few approaches — LED strips along the edges, battery-powered fairy lights hidden behind vines — either failed technically or looked tacky. The wooden base solved both problems: clean, self-contained, and actually something I'd want sitting in my room.
What I Built
Designed the layout in Illustrator and laser-cut the circle and wave pieces separately from acrylic. Cut, sanded, and glued three pieces of wood into a base using wood glue and a nail gun. Soldered wires to loose LED strips and connected them to a 12V power source. The outer circle ring catches the light; the painted waves hide the acrylic glue and make the design pop.