Make sure the power is UNPLUGGED while wiring everything up! We don't want to short out the power supply, or kill the Raspberry Pi while setting everything up.ds

We need to attach the LED strip lights to the canvas/tinfoil backing. For the size window I was creating, rows of about 3-4 inches apart worked perfect. Start in the upper right, and work your way down, peeling the adhesive backing off the strips as you go. Once the first strip is attached, begin attaching the second strip where the first strip left off. DON'T connect the strips to each other. The second strip will be VERY dim by the end if you do this. We'll want to wire them up in parallel instead.

Each strip should come with a plastic connector wired to a female plug. Cut off the female plug, and strip and expose the black and red wires. Connect the plastic connector end to the strip lights. Then connect the wires as shown in the diagram.

Using the MOSFET wired to the Raspberry Pi, we can control the lights. See the wiring diagram above. I used GPIO 21, and the ground pin right next to it for this. Any GPIO and ground will work. I got the MOSFET from Arrow, about $0.50 (link).

To power the Raspberry Pi, I used a 12v to 5v DC Buck Converter (Amazon). This is not required, any Raspberry Pi power supply can be used. But using the Buck converter, I can power the whole setup from the single LED Strip power supply.