First, check that you have all the parts! Look over the parts list here and shown on the left.

Since we released the R3 version we now include stacking headers! The PCB is slightly different to break out all of the Arduino pins, and the 2x3 ICSP header is now part of the stacking kit

Start by placing the shield in a holder as shown, you shouldn't see the large Adafruit logo (its on the bottom)

Then slide the 6, 8 and 10 pin headers into the outside rows of the shield as shown. You will likely have an extra two stacking parts, just put those aside for now.

Now carefully plug the unsoldered headers into a spare Arduino. Make sure all of the long pins plug into the sockets on the side of the Arduino. There will be a gap between the shield and Arduino and the Printed Circuit Board will be loose

Flip over the Arduino and place it flat on the table so that the PCB sits flat against the stacky headers and the stacky headers are flat against the table

Now from above, solder the two end pins a stacky header to the PCB. You don't have to do a great job soldering, just make sure it's tacked together.

Continue with the other header

Flip around and do the other two headers

Carefully remove the shield from the Arduino and insert into your vise with the ends of the stacking header pointing up

Now that you have aligned the stacky headers using an Arduino it's easy to finish the job

Solder the remaining header pins, including the two end pins just to make sure they are super solidly soldered :)

When done, check your work, make sure each pin is soldered with a nice shiny solder connection

Grab a plain Arduino

Next its time to make the male headers from the long strip. use diagonal cutters or pliers to clip off 4 parts, one 6-pin, two 8-pin, and one 10-pin

Place the pieces of header into the Arduino so the long pins are in the side sockets and the short pins stick up

Place the PCB on top of the Arduino so the short pins stick through the rows of pads on either side

Solder all of the pads!

Check your work! Make sure every point is nice and shiny

There's two spots for 0.1uF ceramic capacitors. These are nice little additions that help keep your 5V power-supply clean

Place the two ceramic capacitors in the spots shown. They are symmetric so you don't have to worry about putting them in backwards.

Bend the two little capacitor leads out so that you can flip over the PCB without the caps falling out

Solder each of the 4 leads

Check your work!

Then clip the leads short using a pair of diagonal cutters

Snap the two buttons into the top corner of the PCB. They will snap into place and sit flat against the PCB. They are symmetric so you can insert them 'either way'

Flip over the board and solder the 4 pads of each button

Check your work to make sure the solder points are nice and shiny...you're done!

Next it's time to place the two 3mm LEDs. LEDs are directional, and if you put them in backwards they wont work.

LEDs have a positive lead and a negative lead. The positive lead is longer.

On the Proto Shield PCB, you'll see a circle indicating where the LED goes, and a small + sign. That's the indicator for which pad gets the longer leg of the LED

Next to the red LED you can bend one of the 1K ohm resistors over and insert it in the O- shaped silkscreen pads to the left

Resistors do not have a direction, so they can be installed either way.

Next insert the small green LED between the two buttons. Like the red LED, check for the tiny + symbol on the PCB, aand place the longer leg of the LED into this pad.

Then insert the other 1K resistor into the 0- marked spot right next to it

Bend out the leads of the LEDs and resistors so they sit flat againt the PCB

Flip over the PCB in your vise

Solder in all the legs of the LEDs and resistors.

When done, check your work!

Clip all the leads down so that the long wires are no longer than the solder points

Grab the 6-pin stacking ICSP header and plug it into the header on your Arduino

Plug the shield on top so that the 6 pins go through the matching holes in the PCB

Solder all 6 pads

You're done!

Place the two non-stacking 5-pin headers into the matching slots on the right hand side of the PCB. Use tape to keep them in place.

Or…if you have an extra length of regular pin header…you can insert that into the 5-pin socket headers (with 2 pins spanning the gap) to help align and hold these in place temporarily.

Flip over the board. Use more tape if you need to keep the headers from sliding out

Solder all the pads!

Check your work, make sure all the pins are solidly attached