Our iPhones are almost as essential as breathing at this point. It's how you connect to everyone, everything, and everywhere you go. But, the cases for our darling iPhones kind of suck. The good ones are expensive and as soon as you think you've found the most unique iPhone outfit around, you step on the subway and see 10 other people with the same one.
So, with the help of a few simple craft items and a few super cheap plastic and silicone cases, we're here to show you 4 ways to protect your phone in style. Best of all, your case will be totally unique and easy to spruce up when you want to change your look.
Materials:
– mod podge
– Xacto knife
– scissors
– all purpose adhesive
1. Glossy Paper Cut-Outs: Your options here are limited to any and every catalog, magazine, book, or calendar you can think of. We used a Free People catalog as our source and found two different patterns we like.
For the first one, we decided to bring back our love of chevron. We used our phone to create the chevron pattern and cut it out of the catalog with an Xacto knife. Use all purpose glue to glue your shapes on. Last, a layer of mod podge to seal the deal.
Or, simply trace your iPhone case on a colorful page and create a solid backing. Be sure to place your case on the magazine and use an Xacto knife to cut out the camera hole. Use a Q-Tip to clean out any excess mod podge from the camera hole. Then use the all purpose glue and a paint brush to get the picture on the case. Lastly, paint on a coat of mod podge and allow 24 hours to dry.
Line up the doilies anyway you see fit and create a pattern that you like on the back of the case. Stick each piece one by one using the all purpose glue painted on with a paint brush. To seal your design, paint on a layer of mod podge with a sponge and allow 24 hours to dry. The best thing about this option is that even just a small piece of doily can create a unique, dramatic effect.
Etched Wood
First plug in the wood pen because it takes a few minutes to heat up. Use your iPhone to trace the outline onto the wooden paper and cut it out. Use the all purpose glue to attach to your case. In our case, we had adhesive wooden paper so we simply had to peel off the backing and stick on! Now you are ready to burn in whatever personalized logo you please. You will need to cut out the camera hole for this case as well and can do so by using the wood burning pen and just pressing it through the wood.
4. Plastic Pendant: This one is hands down the most simple makeover in the bunch. Use a plastic pendant or large plastic button, glue onto your case, and voila!
We recommend the hard cases for a better final product, but it's fun to experiment with the silicone cases as well!
