This is an easy way to make your own $50+ value mood light with a minimum of parts/effort/Cost and electrical or electronic experience. Even soldering can be avoided!.

Total cost could be as little as $2.

Step 1: The Heart of the Mood Lamp

The heart of the mood lamp is the colour changing light. Bright LEd systems driven by complex microprocessor systems are detailed elsewhere in instructables but this uses a commercial easily available colour changing LED from www.Rapidonline.co.uk if you are in the Uk or search fro colour changing LED or rainbow LED in Ebay or google for your country i am sure you can find them. Here they are £0.56 or so each.

The LED contains a red - Blue - Green LED and a minute microprocessor inside a standard 5mm LED package - IT IS SMALL. All you need is to apply 3 volts to the LED to make it work.

Step 2: The Cover/display

The easy/cheaper option first. Find a suitable plastic vase or Glass - it should be about 200 mm tall (5 or 6 inches) at least and translucent that is you can see light through when you look through it but not see through clearly. In the UK we call this frosted.

A 2 AA cell battery holder and a matching battery clip - you can buy or steal one off a dead PP3 9 volt battery.

And of course the rainbow LED (or more than one if you like).

Step 3: Putting It Together

I will assume you can solder things together or get someone to do it for you. IF not you could get this working just by twisting the wires together onto the battery clip (not as good as solder though).

The LED has a flat on the case next to the negative leg - If you find this hard to see then it is the side closest to the small black speck you can see inside the LED - This is the microprocessor chip that drives it.

Solder this to the connector so that when assembled the negative side of the battery (the bottom of one of the batteries) is connected to the negative leg of the LED, you may cut the leads shorter as I did if you want but it will work long or short.

The picture shows it assembled and clipped onto the battery holder -NOTE - Only 3 volts - Thats 2 AA cells. DO NOT use a 9 volt battery it will distroy the LED.

Step 4: Assemble

Now if the LED lights Ok and changes colour Put Glass/Vase LED together and enjoy.

Step 5: More Complicated But Stylish Version

Assemble 4 Rainbow LEDS on a board (I used strip board to do this) Attach a 3 volt battery pack and suitable switch.

Step 6: The Fancy Bit

Gather a number of scraps of clear acrylic, The more the better - i cut tham all to be the same width and shaped like an inverted V for style.

Make a box out of some suitable wood/metal/plastig or find a box that fits.

Put the LEDs in the bottom and the acrylic on top of them and you have instant style mood light unlike anyother.