How to decorate a phone case: 10 ideas with instructions

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Cases for modern smartphones are not cheap items. And the more intricate the decor, the greater the financial costs associated with purchasing such an accessory. But human creative thought has gone so far that many ways have been invented to create the desired decor on an ordinary silicone case for a gadget, having a minimal set of materials and tools at hand, spending a small amount of time and applying a minimum of effort. DIY painting of phone accessories has turned into another form of modern art that anyone can master. A selection of the best master classes for experienced decorators and beginners is presented below.

Simple option

This variation of decor is rightfully considered the simplest.

To perform it you will need the following set of tools and materials:

• Phone case made of transparent silicone.
• Acrylic paints in two colors (to choose from).
• Brushes.
• Painting tape.
• Cotton buds.

To begin, glue a strip of masking tape to the inner surface of the accessory in the desired location to divide it into two zones.

Next, paint the inside surface of the phone case with acrylic paints, painting the parts between the strip of tape in different colors. Use a cotton swab to remove excess paint from the edges of the product.

Let the accessory dry completely, and then apply two more layers of each paint in the same way from the inside. When the last layer has dried, remove a strip of masking tape - and the simplest, but very stylish design is ready.

DIY transparent case

First, we will describe the method of making a transparent case, so that if you wish, you can create your own case from scratch.

You will need:

• small box;
• plasticine or dough;
• cling film;
• silicone transparent sealant;
• stationery knife.

The work consists of the following points:

1. Fill the box ⅓ full with plasticine or dough.
2. Wrap the gadget well with film on all sides.
3. Press the phone into the plasticine so that it leaves a corresponding depression, 3 millimeters thicker than the mobile phone itself.
4. Pull the phone out and fill the cavity with sealant.
5. Immediately put the phone back.
6. We level the squeezed out silicone along the edges.
7. We wait for the material to dry completely, and then take out the finished case with the phone.
8. Unevenness can be corrected with a knife.

Nail polish

For young girls who love glamorous things, it will not be difficult to design a case for their own smartphone using nail polish. The set of required tools and materials needed for dot painting of a mobile phone case is in this case narrower than in the previous one, and you will have to spend an order of magnitude less time.

So, for work you will need:

• Decorative nail polish in several shades.
• Transparent silicone case.

Cover the outside of the accessory with multi-colored dots of varnish in the sequence as your imagination dictates. Let the decor dry and you can use the cover.

Another variation of this decoration is the so-called “confetti” motif. It is necessary to visually divide the surface of the cover diagonally into two parts. In the lower zone, do some spot painting on the phone case using the same nail polishes in different colors.

Just place the dots not with brushes, but with toothpicks so that they are miniature. You can make them the same size, or you can make them different - it all depends on your individual preferences. Let the varnish dry and use the accessory as intended.

Interesting coloring and decorating ideas

Let's consider several options for painting and decorating the accessory.

Nail polish

Girls can be asked to decorate the case with nail polish.

In this case you will need:

1. Silicone Case.
2. Nail enamel.
3. Wooden toothpicks.

We take the varnish and paint the outer surface of the accessory depending on your fantasies. You can make droplets in the form of rain. To do this, carefully apply the varnish with a toothpick. You can lightly shake the brush, and you will get a beautiful scattering of drops.

Important: do not forget to let the accessory dry at the end of the work! Otherwise, all your work will be smudged and lose its beautiful appearance.

Neon stickers

You can buy it at office supply stores and decorate your gadget.

Rhinestones

You will need:

• PVA glue;
• rhinestones.

Carefully apply glue from the reverse side to the rhinestones and glue it to the case. We start work from one edge, gradually moving towards the center. We try to glue large rhinestones first. Then we attach small ones to the formed “bald spots”. Give the solution time to dry.

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Stickers

You can decorate with colorful stickers, which are sold in kiosks and bookstores. You will have flowers, stars, fish.

Whatever your heart desires! The selection of stickers is huge!

Beads and pearls

This is suitable for advanced users who have skills in working with small parts. Pearls and beads are carefully glued to the body. The work is delicate and jewellery. Suitable for professionals.

Holographic tape

Stick ribbons on the cover. Cut strips as many as you like and attach them at different angles. Budget and original.

Watercolor

This technique is based on the use of watercolors.

To bring your design to life, you need to prepare:

• A sheet of white paper.
• The silicone case is transparent.
• Watercolor paints.
• Brushes.
• Waterproof handle.
• Scissors.
• Stationery knife.

Since watercolors on a silicone surface will flow to one point, painting a mobile phone case with your own hands will be done on paper.

Print out a template with a design on a white sheet of paper, or create one yourself using a pen with waterproof ink.

Paint the image with paints and leave until completely dry. Then cut out the template to the size of the accessory, use a utility knife to make a hole along the outline of the camera, place the sheet with the design in a transparent case, insert the phone into it - the design is ready.

How to remove marks from a ballpoint pen?

The first aid if ballpoint pen ink gets on silicone is wet wipes. It is best if they are alcohol-based, but if there are none, regular ones will do. Use napkins to wipe away fresh marks. In cases where the ink has not yet been absorbed, this will be enough. Sometimes it is not possible to provide first aid to an accessory. Then other effective methods will help you wash the silicone case from the pen.

Alcohol

You will need any liquid that contains alcohol: strong alcohol, perfume, cologne. However, medical or industrial alcohol does the job better.

The silicone product can be cleaned as follows:

1. Dip a cotton pad or piece of cotton wool in alcohol.
2. Rub the surface using little force until the ink comes off.

Attention! Like acetone, alcohol can ruin the design on the product. Therefore, before cleaning, it is recommended to test the effect of the product on a small area. If the color does not become paler, alcohol can be used.

Dishwashing liquid

The liquid will help remove fresh pen marks; you must:

1. Pour warm water into the container where the accessory is placed.
2. Add 2-3 drops of the product and stir.
3. Immerse the silicone case in the soapy solution.
4. After half an hour or an hour, clean it with a brush and laundry soap.
5. Wash off the foam.
6. Dry.

Acrylic paints

This technique is for more experienced artists.

In order to create such a work of art by painting a phone case, you need to purchase a set of materials consisting of:

• Transparent cover.
• Black acrylic paint.
• Glass markers.
• Purple and orange paint on glass.
• Gold outline on glass.
• Synthetic round brush No. 4.

Using a glass marker, draw a design on the inside of the case. Since it is transparent, you can make your work much easier - print the template, place it on your work surface, place the accessory itself on top of it and trace the contours of the image. When choosing a sketch, keep in mind that the camera area should not be painted over and it is better that the drawing does not extend there.

First, use black acrylic paint to paint the case for your phone. Paint the entire background from the inside so as to carefully and completely hide the marker line. Let the paint dry and cover the background with another layer if necessary.

Continue working after the second layer has dried with a golden outline. Trace the edge of the background around the image so that one half of the gold line covers the marker, and the other half covers part of the black background. Thanks to this trick, the golden lines on the accessory from the outside will look smoother. If you want to get an additional decorative effect, apply gold not in a continuous line, but dotted.

To make sure that the painting on your mobile phone case is harmonious and does not require correction, periodically turn the accessory towards you with the outer side and check the accuracy of the execution.

As soon as the outline is dry, start working with glass paints. Paint over the elements of the picture with orange, immediately shade some areas with purple, and then let it dry. Even if the paint spreads, there is no need to worry - since the background is black, no errors will be visible from the front side.

After the paints have completely dried, put the accessory on your gadget and enjoy your creation.

Ideas for a simple silicone or plastic case

You can decorate not only a transparent case, but also a simple silicone or plastic one. Just in case, we’ll describe how to make a matte silicone case yourself.

Materials:

• potato or corn starch;
• construction silicone;
• disposable gloves;
• knife;
• rolling pin;
• sandpaper;
• spatula or flat object.

Follow the instructions below:

1. Place a couple of tablespoons of starch on a flat surface or in a bowl.
2. Add silicone there and knead well with your hands.
3. Roll out the resulting homogeneous mass, similar in consistency to plasticine, with a rolling pin.
4. We apply the phone and wrap the edges of the silicone so that it takes the shape of a mobile phone and wait for it to harden.
5. Then we carefully trim off the excess edges and make recesses for the camera and buttons.
6. We go over the entire surface with sandpaper to remove all irregularities.
7. Apply another layer of silicone on top and spread it with a spatula for shine.
8. Ready!

Advice! During the mixing process, you can add coloring pigment or food coloring to make the silicone a pastel shade.

Decorate with colored tape

Using colored tape or self-adhesive bright film, you can easily and simply decorate a nondescript case for your smartphone.

What you will need:

• Scotch tape or film in several colors.
• Scissors.

The essence of the work is that you need to glue strips of tape onto the cover with an overlap. That is, you glue a strip of one color, and on top, lower, another. And so you continue, alternating different, your favorite colors and their combinations, until you reach the very bottom. Thus, stripes of different widths are formed on the case. They can be glued horizontally, vertically or diagonally. You can also create a checkered pattern by cutting wide ribbon into thin strips. All excess must be trimmed with scissors or a stationery knife.

Advice! Decorative tape can be matte, glossy, patterned or glittery. Glue the strips to the case horizontally, leaving empty space, to create a bright striped accessory.

Polymer clay

This decor is suitable for those who have ever worked with polymer clay, or are just starting their creative journey in this direction and want to decorate a phone case with their own crafts.

1. Make figures from polymer clay. It's better to make small details, such as berries or flowers.
2. Create a composition and glue the parts to the case using superglue or a glue gun.

Attention! The figures should not be too large, otherwise the risk of them coming off increases, and such a case will simply be inconvenient to carry in your pocket or hold in your hand.

Acrylic paints

You can use acrylic paints on almost any surface, including your phone case. We invite you to check out some decorating ideas:

1. Glue a strip of tape somewhere in the lower half of the cover, thereby protecting the area underneath from paint. Paint the upper part of the accessory with one color of paint, and the lower part with another. After drying, remove the tape and admire the created masterpiece.
2. Use stencils to paint.
3. Draw the design by hand. To do this, you can use colored pens or markers. Color the created sketch with acrylic.

Stickers

A simple case can be decorated with various stickers. For example, for a metallic design, you can buy appropriate stickers in the form of geometric shapes in golden or silver color at a stationery store and stick them to your forehead. You can also create entire compositions or funny stories using stickers.

We hope that our ideas have inspired you to create a bright, original case that you will admire every day and that will attract the attention of others.

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Recommendations from the experts

To make the painting of cell phone cases perfect and pleasing to the eye of both the owner of a unique accessory and the people around him, listen to the recommendations of experienced craftsmen and try to put them into practice.

1. First, to avoid shaking your hand, which causes uneven lines, position it so that it is completely relaxed. Try to place your elbow on the surface of the desktop.
2. Secondly, never start applying a second coat or tracing the outline of a design until the previous paint has dried. Otherwise, the work may be washed out and the cover will simply be damaged.
3. Thirdly, no matter how simple the decor you create, if you are working on the inner surface of the accessory, do not be lazy to turn it back towards you to see how the image looks from the outside. While the paints have not dried, any blots can be corrected using acetone.
4. Fourthly, if you create a composition with acrylic paints on the outside of the case, do not forget to coat the work with a special varnish to fix it.

Be inspired by creative ideas, develop your own design motifs and feel free to start bringing them to life!

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Features of the material

Silicone is a polymer obtained from the chemical bond of oxygen and silicon molecules. Due to its environmental friendliness and wear resistance, it has gained wide popularity in various fields of human activity.

The material has such advantages as:

• strength;
• ease;
• durability;
• flexibility;
• density;
• safety.

The listed qualities make silicone phone cases very convenient, because they do not crack like plastic products and do not look bulky like leather “books” or metal covers.

However, silicone also has disadvantages:

• ability to quickly absorb dirt;
• color change under the influence of external factors, especially if the product is light;
• tendency to cloudiness;
• oxidation upon contact with air.

Of course, silicone cases are durable, but due to these features they lose their beautiful appearance very quickly. Luckily, phone accessories can be cleaned and brightened. If one method does not help achieve the desired effect, it is worth trying several.

How to make a boring smartphone case beautiful, bright and stylish?

There are so many cases for smartphones that are not sold! It would seem that you need a new one - go to a communication store and buy it. It's simple. But there is one “but”! Almost identical models go on sale. What if you want to be different from everyone else? You'll have to use your imagination and do a little magic. Today we’ll talk about how to transform a boring smartphone case with your own hands.