An arduino project could add decoration to the house, or help get stuff done. An arduino could show make videos of someones pet, for example. (here) This instructable will take you step-by-step through the process of creating an Arduino project.

Image credit-http://arduino.cc/en/Main/arduinoBoardUno

Step 1: Make Your Project

To make your project, you will need to make a schematic for your project. For this project, I will be using a 74HC595 IC output circuit.

Step 2: Purchase Materials

After you create a schematic, you must buy the parts for your project. Some good places to get parts are:

Radioshack(http://www.radioshack.com/)
Sparkfun Electronics(http://www.sparkfun.com)
The MakerShed(http://www.makershed.com/)
Mouser Electronics(http://www.mouser.com/)

You should order extra parts in case one breaks during shipping or you break it.

Below will be the BOM (Bill of Materials) for my project.

8 LED's
Arduino Uno
8 330Ω Resistors
1 74HC595 Shift Register IC

If you will be prototyping it on a breadboard:

Jumper Wires
Solderless Breaboards

Step 3: Build and Solder Your Project.

Now, you must build and solder your project. To make this, you should follow your schematic and solder to a custom circuit board or a piece of perfboard. Instructions to make a custom circuit board can be found here. (Thanks to ASCAS.) Then, a project enclosure would be best to protect the circuits. A project enclosure is is a block of hollow plastic to store circuitry. Project enclosures can be found at radioshack.

Step 4: Type Your Code

First, to create the software, you must write the program on the Arduino IDE (here). (An example for the code can be found here). The IDE is the Arduino programmer. For syntax(codeword) help, go here. Then, you should upload the code through the IDE. There will be an arrow pointing right to upload the code. But, a you should verify the code by pressing the checkmark button. My code is attached below.

_74HC595_code.ino
Download

Step 5: Troubleshooting

If the project doesn’t work, you must troubleshoot. You must find the location of the error and fix it. The error could be in the code(for example, a person could have forgot to capitalize the ‘S’ in “Serial.begin(9600);”) or in the hardware(like created a solder bridge or plugged in an IC backwards). If the error is in the code, you must change it until it is just right. If it is in the hardware, there could be some desoldering to be done.

Step 6: Improving

Last, to finish the project, you can improve your design. All you need to know is what to change. If it is in the code, just change the code and upload the new code. If it is in the hardware, add it into your schematic. Then, you should just add it in.