A Grandson made me a family name plaque for Christmas, said for me to hang in my man cave / den / TV room.

I thought I might hang it over the mantle. Easy enough...

...but then I had the idea to perhaps suspend it off the wall an inch or so and backlight it with LEDs to create an even but subtle glow around it.

Knowing little of LED strips I thought I'd ask the collective... I need specifics if possible please.

Battery powered would be a pretty big plus but not a deal breaker and a remote to turn it off and on desirable. It won't be "on" all that much, I expect when guest are over perhaps. If powered by mains I might even put it on a timer with a dimmer... There is power above the mantle near one end and a dark cord would be hardly noticeable if needed. Oh yea, selectable color would be nice

It is ~32 inches long and 8 inches high, a ~inch thick cedar board.

Think soft glow, consistent all around, not bright.

I think the light would need to be hidden/shielded from direct view form the sides by a border or trim inset behind the plaque... or perhaps a led strip could be routed into the board to hide it.

What y'all think?

Plexiglass sanded to provide a "frosted" finish, then mount LED strip to it. (these strips can be had with adjustable color, from a single color, slowly "shuffle" through colors with long gradient transition and other effects.)

The light will diffuse and you can either have the plexiglass extend beyond the edge, or have it cut smaller than the plaque and have the light softly glow.

Another thing would be to move the plaque closure or farther away from the wall surface and that will change the intensity or "soften" the reflected light.

I would have to do some searching, as it has been a while since I messed with them.

I have an LED light fixture that uses 6 AA batteries and a remote battery (2032) wall switch. It is approximately 16 inches long and 2 inches wide and 1.5 inches high. I mounted it with the LEDs facing down under a cabinet. I suspect that, mounted with the LEDs facing the wall behind the plaque it would serve your purpose. Purchased mine in the lighting department at Home Depot, don't remember the price, but it was not expensive. Batteries last a long time and are easy to replace.

What the Monkey notes (the plexiglass can be done in such a way where it doesn't need to be screwed, or otherwise attached, to the wood) or, a neon tube loop attached to the backside with standoffs so the loop doesn't hit the wall.

I've used a bunch off Hitlights brand, available on Amazon. You can get color changing with a remote pretty cheap. You're able to set it for color changing or choose a color and they'll stick right on the back if you like.

LED strip / tape lights, like 65% of the dorm rooms in America at the moment.

Pretty much any of the $30 RGB light strips will do the trick.
Just mount the strip in the back so that the LEDs are not in visible view, that way you get an even glow rather than seeing the light bloom of each led.

Since you asked for specifics maybe something like this would work..

https://www.amazon.com/HIKENRI...la-401826811660&th=1

I have something similar on my truck camper awning and it works great.