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How to Make Your Name Using Flexible LED Lights

Light-emitting diodes, known as LEDs, are available in many different forms. One form comes in strips. These strips have adhesive backs and are available in different light colors and come in bulk lengths, allowing you to make custom designs, or even make your name in LED lights. Using the LED strips to make names or designs is limited only by your creativity and space to arrange the lights.

Things You'll Need

Carpenter's pencil
Bulk LED strip lighting with plug adapters
Cutting tool
Two straight edges
Ruler
LED DC 12-volt converter

Instructions

- 1
  Place two straight edges over the surface where the LED lights are going. If you want to have 12-inch-size letters, set one straight edge on the upper end of the letters and place the other 12-inch below, keeping them parallel.
- 2
  Write out the name using a pencil, between the two straight edges. This keeps the size of the letters uniform and presents them in a neater, cleaner way. If you want special fonts, use stencils, placing them between the two straight edges so they remain parallel.
- 3
  Trace the lettering with the LED strips. Do not remove the adhesive back yet. Instead, place the flexible LED strip along each letter. Common bulk lengths for the LED stripping includes 16-foot spools or individually by the foot. To do block lettering, use the foot increments and push them into each other via the plug adapters. No soldering is required to keep the circuit connected with most LED strips.
- 4
  Remove the adhesive from the back of the first letter's strip of lights. Stick the LED strip to the stencil or pencil letter inside the two parallel straight edges. Go down the length of the name, removing the adhesive from each strip and applying the LED strips to make the letters.
- 5
  Plug the wires from the LED strip into the 12-volt adapter and plug the 12-volt adapter into a standard 120-volt wall socket.

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