3D Steg Assembly Tutorial

So I thought I had done a 3D Steg tutorial before but can not find it. So here it is again. This dino was released last year and would be a great addition to any dino party or decor. 

These are the shapes you should have cut. I will refer to each shape by the number shown in the image below.

To give you an overall idea of how these will go together, 5&6 will fit together, then 3&4. After that, we'll slide the pair 3-4 with the pair 5-6. Lastly, we'll add shapes 1&2. 1 & 2 are actually the exact same shape.

Okay, so to start, grab shapes 5&6 and slide together as shown. 

*To be sure that the legs end up in the correct position, be sure that the lower portion 6 (that the legs are connected too) is behind the lower portion of 5 as shown below.

Next, slide 3&4 together as shown. 

*Again, be sure that the lower portion of 4 (that the legs are connected too) is behind the lower portion of 5 as shown below.

This is what you should now have. I'm going to call the one with the dino head and tail 3-4 since it is made up of 3 and 4 and the other I'll call 5-6.  

It's now time to slide 3-4 and 5-6 together. 

The lower portion of 3-4 should be behind the lower portion of 5-6.  

To place the rings (1 & 2) on the body, you will want to be sure that the slots shown below line up.  

Slide one of the rings over the spikes on the tail and fit any of the slots on the ring into the lower tail slot.  

Should like the photo below. 

Now pull the ring up and over until the slot on the ring the opposite the one you already used is settled into the top tail slot. 

This photo below shows that we're using slots that are opposite from each other. 

Repeat the last couple steps with the last ring fitting it into the slots near at the head end. 

Now comes the tricky part. Carefully tug on the ring while gripping two layers of shapes. Our goal here is to nudge them around the ring to their own slots.  

I like to work one side of a layer and then the next and also work one ring and then the other so there isn't too much pulling on the rings.  

The photo below shows what I meant above by working on one ring and then the other, and then back to the other to reduce pull on the rings.

Once you've accomplished the task of filling each slot of the rings, you're almost done! You could leave your stegosaurus as is, but I think his stance is a bit wide for my liking. 

To fix this, simply bend the legs in a little, and your done! 

As always, if you have questions about any of this, leave a comment and I'll try to answer it best I can as soon as I see it. 

Adventures of 3under3: Pasta necklaces

So we're back from visiting my folks. It was great!...but...I don't think I want to travel with 4 young kids for a little while. What an adventure! I swear the kids acted like they had all had a couple packs of Red Bull! (No worries, don't drink the stuff  so they didn't really) It was probably just the excitement of being at Nanna Jo's, but were they ever wired.

I thought I'd share a fun little project I did to keep them entertained the night before we left. My hubby had already flown to LA, so I was trying to keep them occupied until bedtime.

I found a fun little project online, COLORFUL PASTA NECKLACES! ( I'm trying to find the site to reference it. I'll let you know when I come across it again.)

So to start off, you will need:

dry pasta (with holes for threading)

rubbing alcohol

food coloring

small cups or bowls (for putting the dye in)

spoon, fork, or skewer (to stir dye)

paper towels

dental floss

toothpicks

tape

First, I poured a little rubbing alcohol into each ramikin (bowl). Next I dropped about 4-6 drops of food coloring in each bowl. The more that's put in, the darker the pasta becomes. Then I stirred the drops and rubbing alcohol with my skewer until they were good and mixed.

The colors looked so pretty!

Then we dropped the dry pasta into our dyes.

I let them sit in there somewhere between a half hour to an hour. It was amazing how bright they got! After that, I laid out some paper towels on my cookie sheets to let them the pasta dry for an hour. I the mean time we ate dinner and when we were done, voila! This is what we had:

Beautiful, bright pasta!

The kids had a little trouble getting the dental floss through the pasta, so, I decided to tape the end of the floss to a toothpick. Ta da! Homemade needle for little kids. (I also broke the tip of the toothpicks to make them a bit duller so they'd be kidsafe.)

These little guys sure enjoyed it! They're still wearing their necklaces around.

...and...we made it to bed time with the three who used to be 3under3!

Goodnight!