Introduction: Light Up (Pressure Sensing) Dragon Bookmark

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About: Chibitronics is the evolution of Jie Qi’s PhD research at the MIT Media Lab. Exploring the intersection of technology and art, as well as her passion for papercraft, Jie focused her research on paper circuits,…

In this Instructable, Emily Brooks shares her love for reading and for dragons, with a fun and flashy bookmark for the ages!

For all my fellow dragon-loving readers, this light-up bookmark is for you! Did you know that cartographers inscribed “Hic Sunt Dracones (Here Be Dragons)” in a copper globe over 500 years ago? On the back of this bookmark is a map near the edge of the Northern Hemisphere, and on the front is an aerial view of a fire-breathing dragon.

Supplies

  1. Conductive Fabric Tape
  2. Pressure Sensitive Conductive Plastic
  3. Red, Orange, and Yellow Circuit Sticker LEDs
  4. Coin Cell Battery
  5. Black Card stock
  6. Vellum Paper
  7. Tape
  8. Craft Blade
  9. Cutting Mat
  10. Toner Printer
  11. Toner-Reactive Foil (I am using iCraft Deco Foil in gold)
  12. Laminator (I am using a Scotch Thermal Laminator, 9" TL902A)

Step 1: Print Design on Cardstock

[Thanks to the New York Public Library’s public domain imagery for the map near the edge of the Northern Hemisphere on the copper Hunt-Lenox globe https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/16891d60-66fc-0133-fbd6-00505686a51c ]

Print the PDF on black card stock with a black toner printer. Do not use inkjet!

For demo purposes, this image depicts the PDF printed upon gray paper. I suggest you print the design upon black card stock.

Attachments

Step 2: Laminate Foil

Use non-permanent tape to attach metallic toner-reactive foil to the printed side of the card stock.

Run the foil/ card stock sheet through a thermal laminator twice.

Peel the foil from the card stock.

Step 3: Cut Bookmark

Use a craft blade to cut around the edge of the bookmark as well as the inside of the flame.

Step 4: Assemble Circuit

Use conductive fabric tape, a coin cell battery, and the red, orange, and yellow circuit sticker LEDs to create the circuit on the inside of the bookmark, leaving a gap as seen in the image.

Tape a small strip of pressure sensitive conductive plastic to the other inside of the bookmark to allow the circuit to complete when pressed.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

Tape a strip of vellum behind the flame cut out to diffuse the light.

Tape the bookmark shut.