Table of contents
Abstract
Fake miniature fire barrel - to add ambiance to the inflatable Christmas cows.
Project
It's Christmas in Wisconsin and what could possibly be more Wisconsin Christmassy than festive cows?
Yes, the one on the left still has factory original lighting. The one on the right has had to be repaired - and therefore upgraded.
But this isn't about the LED strips I added. Or the change from series LEDs to parallel LED strips.
This is about making life for these two festive cows just a little better on those cold Wisconsin nights.
And nothing says "cozy" on those cold nights - when you still want to be outside but not freeze to death - like a nice warm fire barrel.
Doesn't it just warm your heart that those cute cows can warm their little hoofs and swap cool cow stories late into the night without freezing?
On to more nerdy things...
This project started out with the intent to use embedded LED's and flicker the lights to mimic a burning fire. After over-engineering a couple of different options, I had to admit that almost all of the exposure was going to be a glance - as folks drove by the house.
It would be far more important to have the initial (and only) impression covey that the cows were huddled around a fire barrel / pit / source than anything else. While this lowered the "cool electronics" factor significantly, I am still pleased with achieving the desired outcome.
How was it done?
The starting point was to sacrifice the top ring of a standard 5 gallon bucket to act as a form. That is the ring above the yellow line on the first photo.
Place the forms on some red, translucent gel / lighting filter paper. The gel should be crumpled to create an irregular surface.
I also placed a small wooden block at the center of the ring to elevate the gel / lighting filter paper.
Tape the form ring to the gel. Fill with expanding insulating foam.
Add some small pieces of tree branch to add realism.
Add a little red paint once the expanding foam dries.
Dry brush a little black accent paint once the red paint dries to add more character to the unlit look.
It needs to look decent in the daytime as well.
This is one of those projects that gets better with time.
During season 1, the foam is white and the red gel makes the project look good.
As the expanding foam ages, it turns yellow. This yellowing makes Season 2 and beyond look FANTASTIC!!
The left picture is what the fire barrel looks like in the daytime. The right picture is the Top Down view at night.
I did cut away a bit of the red gel to create the lighter area seen in the right photo.
As much as I wanted this to be a cool electronics project, to get the correct "curb appeal", I had to go with more light.
This meant getting rid of the LED strips and going with a LED spotlight.
I sprayed the bucket with adhesive (3M 77 Adhesive Spray) and attached aluminum foil to increase the reflectivity.
This makes the light powerful enough to illuminate the expanding foam - through the red gel - and create a nice red glow - like a fire.
I chose to go with the maroon plastic bucket to emulate a rusted steel barrel. It seemed closer to the memory I was trying to create.
I am happy with the outcome even though it didn't wind up being as near an electronics project I had envisioned from the start.
Merry Christmas from Wisconsin and my toasty, warm cows. 
