Greetings, fellow crafters and TTRPG enthusiasts! I’m PibblePusher, and today I’m thrilled to guide you through the process of creating enchanting glowing braziers for your tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) builds. These braziers add a great ambience to any table – so grab the below materials, and let’s get started!
***PLEASE NOTE: In the video I mistakenly identified the needed battery as a CR2016. It should be a CR2032. Sorry!
Materials You’ll Need:
- CR2032 battery (Amazon, or cannibalize a dollar store LED tealight)
- XPS foam: 3 pieces approx
- METRIC: 2.7cm x 2.7cm x 0.2cm and 2.7cm x 2.7cm x half a MM (as thin as you can get it without it being see through)
- IMPERIAL: 1 x 1 x 1/8″ and 1 x 1 x 1/16″ and 5/8 x 5/8 x 1/4″
- LED diodes (you can buy one online or repurpose a dollar store tea light)
- Utility knife
- Hot glue gun
- Mod Podge
- Paint and paintbrushes
- Sandpaper
- Electrical tape
- Needle nose pliers
With these materials in hand, let’s proceed with crafting our glowing braziers step by step.
Step 1: Crafting the Fire bowl: Our first task is to create the bowl that will hold our flame. Start with the foam cube and a knife. Carefully trim the corners and edges, shaping the foam into a roundish bowl-like form. Smooth out any remaining rough edges using sandpaper until you achieve a smooth bowl-like shape.
Step 2: Hollowing Out the Bowl: To create the bowl’s interior, cut a circle around the outside, leaving an outer lip. Then, create a star pattern within the circle by cutting through the foam with your knife. Take your time and go as deep as you can without piercing through the foam. Use the tip of your knife to remove the triangular sections, resulting in a hollowed-out bowl. You want the bottom of the bowl to be as thin as you can make it without breaking through.
Step 3: Crafting the Base: Now, it’s time to prepare the base. Take the thicker square piece of XPS foam, place the battery in the center, and mark its edges. Carefully carve around where the battery will sit, leaving a little room to work with. This will create a frame-like shape. Ensure that your battery fits comfortably within the frame.
Step 4: Assembling the Base: Apply hot glue around the edge of the foam frame and attach the wafer-thin foam piece to the top.
Step 5: Adding the LED Diode: This is the tricky part. Insert the LED diode through the bottom of your foam bowl, aiming for it to stand upright. Next, push it through the top of the foam base, allowing the diode’s prongs to extend beneath the base. If one prong is longer than the other, start with the shorter one and, ideally, use needle-nose pliers to bend it into an “L” shape, flat against the base. Then, bend the longer prong in the opposite direction, also flat against the base, and fold the tip into another “L” shape, facing you. This ensures the electrical connection.
Step 6: Using Electrical Tape: Electrical tape is key to making this project work. Cut a small piece of tape and cover approximately half of the battery. Make sure to tape the side of the battery that has the beveled, ‘trimmed’ edge. This side should always be upwards when setting up your braziers. Experiment to ensure the LED diode touches the edge of the battery correctly, creating a consistent glow. Adjust the tape and the positioning as needed until it works reliably.
The tape should be placed to stop the longer wire from touching the top of the battery. This forms a premature connection and will stop your diode from lighting. The end of this wire should touch the side of the battery, not the top.
Step 7: Creating the Brazier’s Flame: With the technical aspects sorted, it’s time to focus on the aesthetics. Use a hot glue gun to create a swirly pattern inside the foam bowl, taking care not to melt the edges. Allow the glue to dry, and then go over it with just the tip of the glue gun, dragging it to add texture and shape.
Step 8: Mod Podge and Paint: If desired, use a ballpoint pen to create patterns, such as brickwork, to the platform. To finish your glowing brazier, apply a layer of Mod Podge to the outward facing foam pieces. Don’t cover your wires or LED diode. Once dry, dry brush to achieve your desired look and enhance the details.
Congratulations, you’ve crafted your very own glowing brazier for your TTRPG throne room! I’m extra proud of this piece, because as far as I’m aware, it’s a PibblePusher original! I hope you like it, and I’d love to see how you make it your own in the comments.
Until next time, happy crafting!