Where did I get this idea? {#wheredidigetthisidea} -------------------------- It all started last year. My friends complained because I don't have much color in my house. When Christmas rolled around they thought I'd at least put up a tree and I didn't. So I promised that I'd start doing nerdy decorations that way I can build stuff and add holiday-ness to my house at the same time. When this year rolled along I was exhausted. I've been in school all semester and couldn't find anything simple that I wanted to do then I remember a video I saw of people putting wire lights in a bottle for cool effects. So what if I took an empty wine bottle (because they are typically green) and made it into a tree and that is exactly what I ended up doing. Materials (prices are from Microcenter) {#materialspricesarefrommicrocenter} --------------------------------------- - Wine Bottle - Arduino Uno- \$7.99 - USB A to B cable- \$2.99 - NeoPixel Color Ring- \$7.49 - Gator cables for connections (better than what I have in pics)- \$6.99 - Breadboard- \$7.99 Steps for just a light working without button triggers {#stepsforjustalightworkingwithoutbuttontriggers} ------------------------------------------------------ 1. Download the Arduino IDE and plug up your board (The blinking light program should be running) 2. Look [here](https://learn.adafruit.com/florabrella/test-the-neopixel-strip) for some info on Neo Pixel rings. I pretty much rewrote this code and adapted it for my ring, and that code can be found [here](https://github.com/Keheira/Hardware-Projects/blob/master/Wine-Tree/Pixel_Ring/Pixel_Ring.ino). 3. Plug everything up just like the picture below 4. Run your code and test it ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steps for just a light working with button triggers {#stepsforjustalightworkingwithbuttontriggers} --------------------------------------------------- 1. Download the Arduino IDE and plug up your board (The blinking light program should be running) 2. Here (TBA) is the code used to add in the use of the built in button on the Uno. I tried to add detailed comments as well. 3. Plug everything up just like the image section above. 4. Run your code and test it First published on [Medium](https://medium.com/@keheira/guide-to-wine-bottle-tree-eb7e4716f231)