Candy-Button Braille Message

Candy buttons were on sale (after a holiday). They were in strips three dots high. They made me think of Braille cells, which are two dots wide and three dots high.

I decided to indulge my fancy and use the candy to make a large Braille message.

Notes: I used basic Braille letters (plus a capital-letter modifier) because I already knew them by heart. There are also punctuation symbols (of course) and a bunch of more compact symbols that you could use for longer messages, if you wanted to get into it.

You don't need much:

• Candy buttons (or other strip of three long rows of raised dots, regularly spaced)
• Braille online translator or chart (see below)
• Container for picked-off candy (or a tray; see Preparation Tips in Step 2)
• Optional: Damp paper towels (see tip at Step 2a).

To get your message into Braille, I suggest the first of these three options: 

Fast: Braille online translator https://www.brailletranslator.org/

Slower: Your choice of Braille chart or list(s):

• This one aligns the letters in a way that shows the relationships, and also shows punctuation and numbers: https://www.tsbvi.edu/statewide-resources/services/braille/introduction
• Compact (quick-reference) card: https://visionaware.org/everyday-living/essential-skills/reading-writing-and-vision-loss/all-about-braille/
• Wikipedia has a nice visual and explanation of the letters and their relationships under Braille / Derivation (see the first table): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille#Derivation

Slowest: Learn Braille: https://www.wikihow.com/Read-Braille or search for other Braille online courses. I'm sighted, but I find Braille letters very useful from time to time.

1a. Use the online translator (change "Language" to a Level-1 choice) or a reference card/chart to translate a message into Braille. Save it—and refer to it on your screen as you work—or print it or write it out. Optional: Write the letter, symbol, or modifier for each Braille cell, or else maybe number them.

I used "Improv Crafting" for my example (see the first image, which shows a Level-1 translation), but I used the third method (I learned the letters long ago). I recommend the online translator, as shown in the screencaps with "Happy Labor Day!"

The basic letters are the same in the different English translations. In my comparison image, the other symbols differ, but there are some spaces and other odd things—so don't take this comparison too literally. (Translate your own message to see the real punctuation in context, or look at one of the other references.)

1b. Pre-check to see if your message will fit. You will need a block of nine dots for each letter or symbol (including word-spaces); that's two columns of three for the Braille cell and one column for the letter-space following it. Some items, such as capital letters or numbers, take up two blocks of nine.

Tips:

• If your message length is close to your limit, see next bullet or the Careful Planning/Execution Tips below.
• If your message is too long for your strip(s), consider using Level-2 Braille, which has some abbreviations and other condensed forms. (Go "back to start", change the dropdown selection to a "2" choice, and re-run the translation.)

Careful Planning/Execution Tips: 

• You don't need a column after the last Braille cell.
• If your message starts with a capital-next (dot-6) symbol and you're tight on space, you can start with a single column (half a Braille cell) followed by a column space. However, it may look like the wrong dot because the ghosted spots will be off.
• If you have multiple short strips (as I did), you might want to plan where their ends should fall. I did not plan.

Preparation Tips:

• Have something close at hand to contain the many candy dots you're about to free. I took a sticky note and folded it into a sort of shovel shape. Some of the candy tended to rock itself to the open end, so I now prefer a more complete rim. You can just eat them as you go, but it's distracting and potentially moist.
• If you plan to eat them, make sure the container and your hands are sufficiently clean for your level of fastidiousness.
• Those little demons, once freed, can rock themselves off a flat surface; consider putting a barrier around your work area. Maybe use a (clean) tray. I failed to do this.

2a. Imagine the first six candy dots as a Braille cell. Look at your first symbol. Focus on the blank spaces (rather than the dots). Pick candy dots off the spaces that should be blank, and put them in the container. Or eat them, or throw them out.

Tip: I just picked them off. Sometimes a bit of paper came along. To remove the candy dots more cleanly, you can put them on damp towels briefly (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoizedIPFXQ ) or (ahem!) lick the back of the paper and wait a few moments. Beware of moist fingers spreading the dye, though.

2b. Pick off the next column of three dots (all three). This is the space between Braille cells.

2c. Imagine the next six candy dots as the next Braille cell. Identify the blank spaces; pick off the candy dots to clear those spaces.

2d. Repeat steps 2b and 2c until your message is complete. That's it!

More fun with candy buttons (mobius strip, music, and more): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOLIB3cjFqw