To begin the project, I drilled a hold just large enough for the LEDs to press through in the places that I had previously marked on the backer board. The LEDs would pass most of the way through but not completely through, as the lip on the edge prevents them from sliding out. I drilled a total of 14 holes, as I wanted a pair of LEDs for each crystal. One LED lit the crystal up pretty well, but I figured why stop with just one?
 |
| From Board |
Next I took my LEDS and I lightly sanded the tips down on each one. This was to diffuse the light a bit. I ordered super bright LEDs and they will definitely blind you if you look straight down into them. By sanding the end, it helped make the bulb opaque and causes the light to spread out a bit instead of just shooting straight up and out of the top of the plastic crystals. Once they bulbs were sanded I glued them into and through the backer board with some gorilla brand super glue.
Then I took one of the resistors for each bulb and attached it to the LED. At this point, it is important to realize that the resistor must be attached to the cathode side of the LED. If it is attached to the wrong side the LED will not light up. Once I had them attached, I tested each LED to make sure it would work, then I soldered the LEDS in place to the LED.
 |
| From Board |
After allowing the solder to dry I began attaching wires to the underside of my board. To make all the LEDS light up, they need to be wired in parallel so that each branch will draw current and provide the LEDS with the voltage needed to light them. This basically means that each resistor and LED needs to be on a separate loop of wire which attaches to the positive and negative ends of the battery pack. If you wire them in series, meaning attaching one LED after the other, they will not function. I took wiring for each LED and soldered in place the ends. To keep all the wiring secure to the underside of the board, I just used masking tape to hold it flat. Then I soldered in the wires of the battery pack, and tested to make sure it all lit up right, and it did! Success!
 |
| From Board |
 |
| From Board |
Now, flipping the board back over, I carefully covered and taped all the exposed sides of the LEDs. I planned on spraying down the board with white paint before putting down the snow goop. I also put down tape where each of the trees would go which would leave me a no- painted surface later to attach them to.
 |
| From Board |
Stay tuned for the third and final part of the display board!