This summer I fell in love with hoop dancing and have been brainstorming fun ways to combine hooping and soft circuits. Most of us have seen the fancy LED and fire hoops that make for great performances, but can it be taken a step further and have truly interactive hoops?

To show support for my friends currently doing the RPM Challenge (writing and recording an album in 28 days), I’m going to spend February focusing on sound-making and musical projects.

Last weekend I traveled to Boulder, Colorado to attend the ‘Where Electronics Meets Textiles’ workshop hosted by SparkFun Electronics and taught by Lynne Bruning and Troy Nachtigall.

Here are a few of my favorite holiday crafts that use electronics and conductive threads.

Last weekend I celebrated Halloween by marching in the 16th Annual Portsmouth Halloween Parade. I had great time admiring all the hand made and elaborate costumes on display during the event. Here are a few of the electronic/light up costumes I saw along the way.

Photo by Denise J. Wheeler

This week I’ve been working on two different ways of creating light up fairy wings for Halloween.

October is my favorite time of year. As a crafty person I love the opportunity to go all-out and decorate my house, help out with Halloween celebrations, and get dressed up for costume parties. I’ve gathered up a few interesting projects from Instructables for some inspiration on adding technology into your Halloween celebrations.

Lately there are an increasing number of shoes on the market that incorporate technology, from running shoes that sync with your iPod to high fashion illuminated heels. Here are a few cool tutorials that show you how to build your own tech-infused footwear.

Last week I found some WiFi Detecting Keychains on sale for $5 and decided they would make a fun weekend hack. I personally don’t like keychain gadgets, but they are great for incorporating into wearable projects because of how small and compact the circuit boards are.

This week I’ve been transitioning back to the ‘real world’ after spending the weekend in California and experiencing two full days of Maker Faire. There were so many amazing projects and demos, I was only able to catch a few of them, but what I did see was fantastic. Here are a few highlights…