Eva’s Costume Idea

This Halloween, I designed a “Lightning Cloud Umbrella”. It’s an umbrella decorated with clouds, and the inside of the umbrella simulates lightning with a simple LED flashing effect. The outside of the umbrella is made of cotton to create the cloud effect, and it is decorated with transparent raindrops attached to a silver chain to create a rainy day feeling. When the umbrella is opened, the LEDs inside flash randomly to simulate lightning and enhance the festive atmosphere.

Arduino technology used
To achieve the lightning effect inside the umbrella, I used an Arduino Uno to control the flashing LEDs.

Materials needed
Arduino Uno: 1 for controlling the flashing effect of the LED lights.
White LEDs: several, used to simulate the light effect of lightning.
Cotton: appropriate amount, used to make cloud decoration.
Silver Chain: several, used to connect the raindrop decoration.
Transparent raindrop decorations: several, used to simulate rain drops.
9V battery: 1pc, to power the Arduino and LED lights.
Wires: several, used to connect the parts of the circuit.
Resistors: according to the specifications of the LED lights, choose the appropriate resistance value.(⬇️which I already have)

Production steps
Prepare the umbrella stand: choose a transparent umbrella so that the light from the LED light can pass through.

Install the LED light:

Inside the umbrella, install the white LED light according to the designed position.
Connect the LED light to the Arduino Uno

Write the Arduino code:

Write code to make the LEDs blink at random intervals to simulate a lightning effect.
Use the Arduino’s random() function to generate random blinking times and control the LED lights on/off via digitalWrite().

Make cloud decorations:

Use cotton to create cloud shapes on the outside of the umbrella and fix them on the umbrella surface.
Add raindrop decorations:

Attach transparent raindrop decorations with silver chains and hang them around the umbrella to create the effect of rain.
Circuit connection:

Connect all the LEDs to the Arduino to make sure the circuit is correct.
Use a 9V battery to power the whole system.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)