WLED and the line of Adafruit Sparkle Motion boards make it easy to control NeoPixels LED lights and build any project you want. The software is free, easy to use, and gives you a lot of options for light palettes, colors and effects.
If you're like me, you don't stop building after just one project. My living room has between five and ten WLED instances running at any given time, and I have several more that I bring to festivals, fairs or galleries to share with the public.
These different light projects and art pieces are easy to sync together with WLED's built-in sync features, and control from any smart phone or web browser. But this requires that I know where my phone is, and also that I know how to log in and use the software.
With this project I have been able to give control to anyone who comes in contact with my art, including kids that don't have a smart phone yet.
This wireless control button makes my art installations interactive over WiFi -- any audience member can now change animations and interact with the art in a fun, accessible way.
Get wire in 3 different colors, to make your life easy.
This button can be powered by a USB-C battery or by plugging it into a USB wall charger. Using a battery makes it perfectly mobile, but WLED is a power-hungry program so don't expect it to last for days on a single charge.
You'll Also Need
- An enclosure to house the button, Sparkle Motion and battery - I used a carved wooden vase, but you could also use a Tupperware bin, a jar, or make yourself a fancy 3D printed enclosure
- Hot glue & black tape
- A soldering iron + accessories
- For testing: alligator clips & a coin cell battery
Miniature Version
I also made a smaller version using a tiny QT Py ESP32 Pico board and a tactile momentary switch button. This version is easy to hide in your pocket so you can change effects or control the lighting with the stealth and cunning of a magician.
You'll Also Need
- A zip tie or two
- Soldering iron & accessories
Take it On the Go
WLED works over WiFi, so these buttons will work perfectly in your home or within a known WiFi network. To take it out to a festival or event, you'll want to bring a WiFi router to facilitate communication between your devices. You don't need it to connect to the internet -- just to talk to all your different microcontrollers and keep them in sync.
This router from TP-Link is affordable and does the job. Look for a higher-powered router if you need to communicate over a long distance.
Page last edited January 14, 2026
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