Make an IPod Speaker From a Hallmark Music Card

Ever get one of those cards for your birthday that plays music when you open it? Don't throw it away! With a little help from Tony the Tiger, you can use it as a speaker for your iPod.

Hallmark Music Card
Old headphones
One empty cereal box from a Kellogg's Cereal Variety Pack - I used Frosted Flakes, but you can choose your favorite cereal. It will not impact the outcome of this project. ;-)
Glue Gun
Electrical tape
Utility knife
Not required, but helpful: Soldering iron

Use a utility knife to cut along the top and bottom edge of the card to expose the speaker.

Cut the speaker wire at the base of the circuit board first and then gently remove the speaker from the card. If you don't cut the speaker wire first you could end up ripping the wire from the base of the speaker and then you'd really need a soldering iron.

The speaker is fixed to the card with a small circular piece of double sided tape, so it shouldn't be too difficult to remove. Avoid the urge here to use your utility knife to "cut away" the speaker - you could accidentally cut right into the speaker itself.

Finally, strip about a quarter inch of insulation from the wires.

Side note: In case you're wondering, the Hallmark card is powered by a CR2032 3V Lithium Battery. This is the key ingredient for making an LED Throwie and is the power house for a bunch of other Instructables. The battery isn't necessary for this Instructable, but holding on to it could prove to be handy down the road. ;-)

Cut headphone wires at the base of each headphone (L & R). You'll only need one of the two lines so pick the one you want to use and cut the other where they converge mid-way down the length of the chord.

Next, strip the wires. You may notice some fiber-like material interlaced with the leads themselves. Strip this stuff out with your utility knife or you will not be able to get a solid connection from your headphones to the speaker (thanks to Richard at my local Radio Shack on that one). Alternatively, you can use a soldering iron to burn this stuff away. I found this method much easier and a bit more effective.

Connect headphone wires to speaker wires. I'm not sure if it matters which ends you connect, but make sure you're getting sound before you seal the deal, so to speak.

Once you've connected your leads (again, soldering here is a good idea, but not necessary) insulate and tidy up the exposed connections with some electrical tape.

You'll want to cut a whole slightly smaller than the full diameter of the speaker. Remember the nice beveled edge Hallmark utilized to fix it to the card with double sided tape? We'll want to do the same thing here. A 1.25" diameter hole should be perfect. There's a dashed line that runs through the middle of the box that will help center you up before you cut.

You'll also want to cut a small hole towards the bottom rear of the box to feed the headphone jack through. Feeding the wire through the back/bottom of the box not only makes it look nice, but also weights the box so that it doesn't fall forward on its face when you stand it up on end.

Run a small amount of glue along the beveled edge of the speaker and quickly attach it inside the box. Hold it to give the glue a chance to dry. Secure it by adding some spots of glue along the top and bottom edges of the speaker where it meets the box. Try not to glob it on so that you don't add more weight. I ended up using way more than I should have, but it didn't make the box unstable.

Finally, glue back together the top and bottom of the box as it was originally sealed, connect an iPod and kick out the jams.