# Animated Flame Pendant ## Overview > Turn on your heartlight > Let it shine wherever you go > Let it make a happy glow > For all the world to see ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/031/676/medium800/led_matrix_banner.jpg?1460585388) A little fire for your heart! But there’s no actual flame here, no heat…instead, LEDs and a microcontroller make a virtual flame that dances like the real thing. (In fact it’s playing a tiny video loop of a real candle.) We planned this animated flame simply as a piece of high-tech jewelry, but other uses are possible…a fire or lantern effect on cosplay props, a safer alternative to having candles on the table or as part of a holiday display, or a unique night light for finding your way to the bathroom at night. It’s a simple circuit that can be built either as a pendant or as a tabletop piece. Fair warning though: **the pendant variant is tricky** …it’s a very tight space requiring ace soldering skills and some unconventional methods. As a tabletop piece, perhaps in a glass votive, or maybe you have a cosplay prop in mind, it’s much more forgiving. ### Parts from Adafruit: - **[Pro Trinket 3V](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2010)** (the code works fine on the [5V Pro Trinket](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2000) as well, but the battery will run a little longer with the 3V board) - **[LiPoly Backpack Add-On](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2124)** for Pro Trinket - **[350 mAh Lithium Polymer Battery](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2750)** (required for pendant — a larger battery is OK if making a votive candle instead) - **[Breadboard-friendly SPDT Slide Switch](https://www.adafruit.com/products/805)** - **[16x9 Charlieplexed PWM LED Matrix Driver](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2946)** - **LED Charlieplexed Matrix** : [red](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2947), [yellow](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2948), [green](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2972), [blue](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2973) or [white](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2974). White is brightest, yellow most closely matches a real candle…all depends what effect you’re after. Green Lantern, perhaps? ### Other Required Items: - Soldering iron and related paraphernalia - Narrow-gauge wire. Especially if building the pendant…we’re huge fans of our [30 AWG silicone-coated stranded wire](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2003) for tightly-packed projects like this one! - Hobby knife and/or file. - If making the **pendant** design: - 3D printer and transparent filament - Two (2) #2-56 x 3/8" screws (or M2 x 10mm) - Small screwdriver - Flush cutters - Necklace chain or lanyard cord - 5-minute epoxy or E6000 glue (do not use JB-Weld, it's conductive) - If **NOT** making the pendant: - Glass votive candle holder or other container **Before going shopping or committing to any parts or materials, read through the whole guide first to see what’s needed and what you might already have, or for ideas on what you might improvise.** - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/animated-flame-pendant/3d-printing.md) ## Featured Products ### Adafruit Pro Trinket - 3V 12MHz [Adafruit Pro Trinket - 3V 12MHz](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2010) **Deprecation Warning: The Pro Trinket bit-bang USB technique it uses doesn't work as well as it did in 2014, many modern computers won't work well. So while we still carry the Pro Trinket so that people can maintain some older projets, we no longer recommend it.** Please... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2010) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2010/guides) ### Adafruit LiIon/LiPoly Backpack Add-On for Pro Trinket/ItsyBitsy [Adafruit LiIon/LiPoly Backpack Add-On for Pro Trinket/ItsyBitsy](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2124) If you have an ItsyBitsy or Pro Trinket you probably know it's the perfect little size for a portable project. This LiPoly backpack makes it really easy to do! Instead of wiring 2 or 3 boards together to make a charging system, this little PCB sits on top of the PCB and allows a... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2124) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2124/guides) ### Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7V 350mAh [Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7V 350mAh](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2750) Lithium-ion polymer (also known as 'lipo' or 'lipoly') batteries are thin, light, and powerful. The output ranges from 4.2V when completely charged to 3.7V. This battery has a capacity of 350mAh for a total of about 1.3 Wh. If you need a larger (or smaller!) battery, In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2750) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2750/guides) ### Breadboard-friendly SPDT Slide Switch [Breadboard-friendly SPDT Slide Switch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/805) These nice switches are perfect for use with breadboard and perfboard projects. They have 0.1" spacing and snap in nicely into a solderless breadboard. They're easy to switch no matter what size fingers you have, but not so easy that they'll get flipped by accident. Work great as... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/805) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/805/guides) ### Adafruit 16x9 Charlieplexed PWM LED Matrix Driver - IS31FL3731 [Adafruit 16x9 Charlieplexed PWM LED Matrix Driver - IS31FL3731](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2946) The IS31FL3731 will let you get back to that classic LED matrix look, with a nice upgrade!  **This I2C LED driver chip has the ability to PWM each individual LED in a 16x9 grid**  so you can have beautiful LED lighting effects, without a lot of pin twiddling. Simply tell... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2946) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2946/guides) ### LED Charlieplexed Matrix - 9x16 LEDs - Red [LED Charlieplexed Matrix - 9x16 LEDs - Red](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2947) These are 9x16 Charlieplexed LEDs designed to match with the [Adafruit 16x9 Charlieplexed PWM LED Matrix Driver - IS31FL3731](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2946). You don't get any resistors or driver chips with this grid, its just a mess of LEDs in a charlieplexed... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2947) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2947/guides) ### LED Charlieplexed Matrix - 9x16 LEDs - Yellow [LED Charlieplexed Matrix - 9x16 LEDs - Yellow](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2948) These are 9x16 Charlieplexed LEDs designed to match with the [Adafruit 16x9 Charlieplexed PWM LED Matrix Driver - IS31FL3731](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2946). You don't get any resistors or driver chips with this grid, its just a mess of LEDs in a charlieplexed... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2948) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2948/guides) ### LED Charlieplexed Matrix - 9x16 LEDs - Green [LED Charlieplexed Matrix - 9x16 LEDs - Green](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2972) These are 9x16 Charlieplexed LEDs designed to match with the [Adafruit 16x9 Charlieplexed PWM LED Matrix Driver - IS31FL3731](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2946). You don't get any resistors or driver chips with this grid, its just a mess of LEDs in a charlieplexed... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2972) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2972/guides) ## Related Guides - [IS31FL3731 16x9 Charlieplexed PWM LED Driver](https://learn.adafruit.com/i31fl3731-16x9-charliplexed-pwm-led-driver.md) - [Pocket Galaxy](https://learn.adafruit.com/pocket-galaxy.md) - [Trinket “Question Block” Sound Jewelry](https://learn.adafruit.com/trinket-question-block-sound-jewelry.md) - [NeoPixel Infinity Mirror Coaster](https://learn.adafruit.com/infinity-mirror-coaster.md) - [NeoPixel LED Heart Necklace](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-led-heart-necklace.md) - [DRAFT PUNK](https://learn.adafruit.com/draft-punk.md) - [Camera LED Ring Light](https://learn.adafruit.com/camera-ring-led-light.md) - [Adafruit ItsyBitsy nRF52840 Express](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-itsybitsy-nrf52840-express.md) - [ESP32 PlayStation Controller](https://learn.adafruit.com/esp32-playstation-controller.md) - [Purple People Eater](https://learn.adafruit.com/purple-people-eater.md) - [CircuitPython Hardware: Charlieplex LED Matrix](https://learn.adafruit.com/micropython-hardware-charlieplex-led-matrix.md) - [DotStar Belly Dance Fans](https://learn.adafruit.com/dotstar-belly-dance-fans.md) - [NeoPixel LED Necklace Insert with USB Charging](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-led-necklace-insert-with-usb-charging.md) - [Adafruit Pro Trinket LiPoly/LiIon Backpack](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-pro-trinket-lipoly-slash-liion-backpack.md) - [Battery Powered Raspberry Pi Displays w/RaspiRobot Shield](https://learn.adafruit.com/raspirobot-battery-powered-raspberry-pi-displays.md)