Decorating contest with prize

[beeiilll]

I just started this year with animated lighting and have done my best at putting up a fair display. I purchased 16 LOR controllers, approx. 14,000 LEDs, and a lot of wire and various extras to try and get things going.

I have a very plain style of house and I also have come to realize that I am not very good at visualizing how to make the house have that "wow" factor that a lot of the people on here seem to get out of their displays. I also realize that more channels doesn't make a better display.

So my question for all is, are there are enough of you "veterans" and newbies for that matter that have done this that would be interested in doing a layout with sequence for the chance to get a free LOR CTB16KDWHS kit or maybe a pre-built board in return?

I would give you some constrants (hey I don't have unlimited funds or resources you know) to work with, but basically you would have free rein to come up with a decorating layout for my house.

Does this sound like something that any of you would be interested in doing? If so, I will set up something to begin the contest.

Thanks for taking the time to consider it.

Here is the house to consider.

Bill




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[Robin]

No, but I would be glad to help with ideas.

A little background. Are you going to put a rail around your deck this year? If so you can load that sucker up. Second, is the power pole on the left of your house yours or does it belong to power company? If your property then there is a start for a nice mega tree. You can do a light grid on your roof and it should be rather easy work.
Lights around your windows and the shutters could have lights on them as well. Lights around your front door and garage door. The posts on your deck are perfect to wrap with lights. Or use the leaping arch concept and wrap some PVC pipe and then zip tie them to front of the posts. Icicles around your eves and even more on your deck. Then if you have them make them two colors. For your yard you can make a light grid, or my favorite some wire frames. You can put C7 lights on each side of your driveway and if you have enough put three sets offset so to chase them.

How about mini trees along the road or if you prefer your driveway instead of the C7 lights.

Are the woods behind and on the sides of your house your property? If so wrap some tree trunks and have fun.

Do you have a deer problem? With them coming in your yard? If so start hunting!!!

[beeiilll]

Hey Robin

Thanks for the suggestions.

First that pole is the mega tree that I built for this year. I do really need to put up a railing on the deck for sure. Only had the deck built for 18 years now, so I guess maybe it is time to do a railing on it :shock:.

Yes I own the woods on either side of the house and for a ways up behind it. I have been sitting across the street looking at it for a few nights this last month watching the show that I was able to put together and getting ideas.

I just seem to have the decorating sense of a brick :?!

Here is a photo of what I was able to pull together for this year. I only did red and green around the house, but I have the lights to do R,G,B,W next year all the way around. If I build the railing it will probably change the look enough that I will rethink the windows and door lighting. I am also torn on the idea that I should go with icicle lights for the roof outline rather than using C7's for it. And I do want to build another dozen or so mini trees for the front year. I also have one 20 foot arch built and will build another 2 or 3 more for next year

I just thought that maybe a free controller would give some incentive to others with a better eye for things to help me get a real "show stopper" for next year.

Oh and for the deer problem, that would be tough since I rehab animals and do have deer and raccoons living here with me. Sorry, hunting isn't an option anymore for them. But the animals have left the display alone this year. Probably because I feed them so well . And my only rehab raccoon left comes and knocks on my back sliding door where my office and computers are so she can come in and have some food and nap by my feet if she wants too.

Bill





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[friskybri]

I would run up at least some segments on the poles for the deck. kind of like this video by byahs

I thought this was really cool.

[Robin]

Bee,
I think I would skip the ground lights! LOL.
The roof could still work.
Just a question, how much insulation do you have in the attic? Looks like some heat loss for the snow to be off the roof unless it all blew off.

[beeiilll]

Not to worry, the attic has plenty of insulation.

This photo was taken the day after we had 60 + MPH winds and it was warm and raining the day before that.

Usually I have anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow up there. So doing a roof grid would be pretty hard to do.

Plus it was windy this day and had snowed lightly just a little while before I took this shot.

[Robin]

LOL well having lived in the mountains I know that snow on the roof is a good thing so was just a little curious. Well your mini trees look good so more of them would work. Also, might want to consider some wireframes or coro as they can be placed above the snow. May I suggest an autographed picture of me? :shock:

[beeiilll]

Here is a photo from this afternoon.




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[Dale W]

I do not think you need to have a contest. With 16 controllers (256 channels), you are wide open as to what can be done with your property.

Options include: Dueling Mega Trees. Build another Mega tree and have them compete and talk to each other in your sequences.

More mini trees. You have enough room to put out a few dozen mini trees.

As Robin stated above, Coro projects.



Beautiful yard!

[beeiilll]

Yea, I would like to make at least a dozen more of them and get 3 or 4 of the 20 foot arches to place towards the road.

I like the ideas of using the posts on the deck as well. I will have to think about that for awhile and see what comes to mind for them.

I also want to get into wireframes as well. The inflatables are just too much trouble up here. Have to go shake the snow off them 5 times a day and the wind really messes them up.

I have been eyeing this wireframe from Xmas Done Bright. I like the look of it and it is LED as well as animated. They have a couple of other ones that I like as well.

I guess I really need to come up with a theme for things and then adapt to it for a show feeling maybe?




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[beeiilll]

Dale W wrote:

I do not think you need to have a contest. With 16 controllers (256 channels), you are wide open as to what can be done with your property.

Options include: Dueling Mega Trees. Build another Mega tree and have them compete and talk to each other in your sequences.

More mini trees. You have enough room to put out a few dozen mini trees.

As Robin stated above, Coro projects.



Beautiful yard!

Thanks Dale

Yea it is a big open place to play with. Guess maybe it was a good thing that I have not gotten around to landscaping it yet:D.

I was playing with Paul's CDI preseason buy list a little while ago and figured out that just to fill out the mega tree I have now, build 3 more 20 foot arches, and a dozen more mini trees will cost me a little over $3000 for the lights :shock:.

So maybe a second mega tree might have to wait for another year or two or three .

I haven't looked at Coro yet at all. Seems like a lot of folks use it though. I am handy at building things though so I may tackle some wireframe projects at first.
And I would like to have some animated characters to sing and do voice things around the yard as well.


Will have to see how the year goes for work and income.

Bill

[Robin]

Google Lori's Lighted D'lite in Stark, FL

She has good frames and uses clips instead of tape to attach the lights. Tell her I sent you as she is a good friend of mine and treats everyone great.

[beeiilll]

I have looked at Lori's site a few times. She does have a lot of nice looking things for sure. I will have to take a serious look at the site.

As an off topic since you do wireframes, what type of welder do you use for them?

If I was to get something I would want to do wireframes and some light welding around here, but nothing heavy duty.

Thanks

Bill

[basis21b]

I was thinking similarly to some of the recommendations already made. If you can get the railing up on the deck it would be a very good place to fasten some coro elements. With all of the LOR channels, you could animate them. Marty Slack's band is an example. http://www.christmasutah.com/videopage.html - Check out the Jingle Bone Swing video.

Here is another person's band - http://www.twinklinghouse.com/videos/TwinklingHouse-ChristmasLemonade-Wide.wmv

Or you could have Santa in a sleigh and the reindeer animated giving the illusion of flying or a gift wrapping machine or a person/elf/Santa sliding down a slope from the top of the one side of the deck to the bottom of the other side or a star above the big window with rays of light flowing down to the ground or ....

A line of trees along the road would make for some very interesting chase effects. Making them with more than one color would be even more effective.

[BryanLeggo]

Maybe I'm too new at this to suggest much in the way of lighting design but I'd be happy to do a few sequences for you once the design is underway. Too bad because one controller would be a BIG step forward over what I have now. :/

What looks good to me is a lttle symmetry and not too much clutter. Although I like the idea of sections of similar objects (snowmen, reindeer, whatever...) I don't like the cluttery approach of throwing them all over the place without a plan. Those diverse objects make it easier to use them for special aspects of a song, e.g. Snowmen for the Frosty Song, Reindeer for the Rudolph Song but in the end rows of trees, stars, arches, whatever give you a lot of latitude for music that isn't so specific. And you probably near a big capper in the center whether it's a mega-multi-tree or something else with big impact.