DIY Fashion Diva

Finally I am ready to do a tutorial on how to glam up my lovely pink cell phone. The purchases I did recently on Etsy has really gave me a lot of inspiration for this project. DIY my cell phone allow me to express my design and save money because purchasing a bling up case by others can be extremely expensive. If your phone is unusual like mine, finding a blinged case is super difficult as well.

I’ve been wanting to do this project for the longest time. Unfortunately I was never able to have so many adorable decorating materials because I live in America ( Let’s face it, decoden is not as popular here as most Asian countries). Japan is really the leader when it comes to this subject. I think they practical invented this whole trend. That’s why every time I go visit, I try to purchase as much materials as possible for my DIY future projects.

I purchased a lot of substitute things like gems, rhinestones and lace in some local craft stores in Florida but the quality and variety is not really my top choice. Since I discover the Etsy website, I am been able to purchase a lot of high quality decoden parts which allow me and achieve my desire design.

My pink LG cell phone became my first re-decorating subject because I always wanted a fancy bling up Japanese princess style mobile phone rather than a regular looking one. I purchased my phone in Hong Kong a couple years back while I was traveling. The model is LG KU990 (Korean Brand) but it was made in Japan, I got a really good deal too compare to the phone sold in the States. (PS: Until today I still cannot find a shop that sell this phone here so that was definitely a good buy.)

My LG phone has a cute light metallic pink shell through out so even without any decoration it is already super adorable and girly which totally fits my style. What I really love beside the color and cool look is it’s features like 3-inch touchscreen display, 5 megapixel digital camera with video capture, bluetooth capability, digital audio/video player, organizer and document viewer… etc.

So even after all these year, my phone is still working and it’s feature still beats a lot of new technology smart phones. To give it a new unique look is really all I needed at this point. The key for this tutorial the adorable plastic cabochons which I purchased from online stores. My orders from Etsy consist with a lot of flat back plastic pieces, pearls and rhinestones and they definitely come in handy when decorating cell phone and other accessory at home.

An ordinary decoden cell phone case price can range from 50-180 dollars easily and I really don’t want to spend that much on a single phone case. With the 3 orders I put in Etsy, I can decorate a couple cell phones and tones of other electronics and accessories in my household.

The process of this cell phone makeover is really easy, I choose epoxy glue as my bonding material because it is strong and it dries clear. A lot of other decoden post has recommended this type of glue for the project. I really like the one that comes in separate containers compare to the one in one tube. Separate bottle makes control the amount a much easier task.

So here’s my tutorial steps:

Step 1: Sketch out the design

I didn’t really have time to do this on my Bamboo tablet so I just did it on a piece of paper really quick.

Step 2: Peel off the materials from sticker

The original decoden sticker I purchased from Hong Kong is fill with different materials. The size wasn’t right for my phone thought so I decided to peel them off individually and incorporate some into my design.

Step 3: Lay down the material

According to my design sketch, I lay the bigger items down on the phone cover and see if it looks good before hand.

Step 4: Mix the glue

I choose to mix the glue on a smooth plastic surface (like the back side of the original sticker which use to held the gems). The  amount from each bottle must be exactly the same or else the glue might turn out to be yellow or not as strong in the bonding department. Beware of it’s drying time is usually is fast (about 5 minutes for mine) so do not try to squeeze out too much at a time.

Step 5: Glue the big items first

Using a toothpick to pick up the glue, carefully apply a generous amount onto the back of each item then place them on our cell phone cover. The glue will dry quickly but we can still move items around if needed.

Step 6: Fill in the space with gems and pearls

Use different sizes pearls, gems and rhinestones to fill up the gaps in between the big plastic parts. I apply the glue straight onto the cell phone cover then I use a tweezers and pick up the parts individually. This process will take the most time and requires a lot of patient.

The finishing look of my freshly made Hello Kitty bling up cell phone case: