You can add simple lights to props and you don’t need to spend a lot of money. Although you can create your own LED circuits, you can use decorative lights as well.
In this case, I was making Raven’s belt. Her belt has lots of half domes and I decided to attach lights to them to give it a sense of magic. Actually, the domes are christmas baubles. The ones I chose come in halves. I only had to remove the tip with pliers.
Before I started with the lights I used a Sharpie marker to paint the baubles. Then, I used foam to create the embellishments. Finally, I glued the pieces together. In order to difuse the lights I used chiffon fabric. I attached two different types of lights.
Adding a string of lights
For the belt, I used a string of microLED lights. They come in a circuit already wired and attached to a battery holder. First, I made holes to the base of my domes, which was made of foam. Then, I put the LEDs through the holes. I also added extra foam to make the lights more stable.
Adding LEDs with a button battery
The circuits I used for the hands were very simple. Similar to the other lights, I cut a whole in the bottom part of the base. Then, I glued a sleeve where I hid the button battery. I made sure the LED showed through the hole. The LED will be on as far as it is touching the right poles of the battery. To disconnect them you just need to move them. I used a similar technique to build my Vocaloid headphones.
Final touches
The final step was to hide the cables and glue the attachments. For example, I braided gold elastic to my belt. I also added elastic and velcro to the lights on my hands
It is very easy to add simple lights to props. You just need to remember to leave enough room to hide them properly. They are very cheap and will give a great finish to your cosplay. Above you can see my Raven cosplay from Teen Titans, photo by Chris Baugh
