6/28/12

Decorative Otterbox Case

So I'm standing at my local electronics store in the phone case aisle and I find myself conflicted. With the OtterBox in one hand, and an adorable but flimsy little plastic thing in the other I'm debating over form or function, decorative or durable...and I decided I wanted both, heres how!

I chose an OtterBox Commuter case-This will stand your average wear and tear (drops, etc.) but doesn't have the defense of your defender series. So, do keep that in mind!

I decided I wanted a white base, and not being able to find one I used a simple coat of primer

Using a stencil and a craft knife I cut out zig-zags and placed them over the phone with the goal of making chevron stripes-stick and pull up the tape from a piece of fabric to dull down the adhesive just a bit

Carefully position them over the phone exactly as you want the pattern to show on your finished phone case, make sure to curl over onto the edges!

I decided to go with a sunflower yellow and then I just spray painted the case! Afterwords I used a light grey and hand painted around the logo preview space. Carefully remove your tape decals and, ta da!

Last thing you should do is spray a clear enamel over the outside to finish it off. This will not only give it a nice shine, but will seal it with a hard plastic-like coating. Give it a good 24-48 hours to try and then, Enjoy!!




17 comments :

  1. Sarah, this is brilliant!!! I can't wait for an update to see how well it holds up. Looks fantastic!

    ~m.

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  2. I love this! But what if I don't want the otter box stamp on it anymore? is there a way to cover it, would more layers of paint do it?

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    1. Yeah, if you wanted to you could certainly fill in the brand name-I like to have it because I still want to endorse otter box (Plus when people see your crazy cute one they're bound to wonder where on earth they got it, since they looked everywhere for one!!!) But if you want to fill it I would use craft putty-you can get it at Hobby Lobby, or Michaels-fill in the stamp, wait for it to dry completely, and then sand it all even. Too many layers of paint will lead to excessive thickness which may cause issues in the drying process (and ultimately might ruin the finish of your phone) Good luck!!!!

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  3. Thank you for this!!! I am getting the new Google Nexus soon, and while there are a TON of cute iPhone cases, there is not much out there for the Nexus yet. Plus, I am constantly dropping my old phone, so I think I definitely need an Otterbox, too. You are such a smartie! :)
    - Robin

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  4. What kind of paint did you use? :)

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  5. Just regular ol' paint! I picked up the spray paints that I used at lowes-I'm pretty sure you can use any kind of paint, just make sure you seal it with an enamel spray to lock everything in good and tight :)

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  6. Aaaaand? Is it holding up? I can't believe this idea! I love it! very well done!
    -Sarah M

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    1. It's held up Amazingly! I had to retire it last week, however, but only because I dropped it from a three story flight of stairs! The otter box split but my phone was just fine, Thank goodness!!

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    2. Otterboxes are lifetime gaurenteed I think, you might able to get a new one for free

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  7. Love this idea! What kind of adhesive did you use to cut the strips out from, and where can I find it? :)

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    1. It's just masking tape, laid over one another over and over to make a 'sheet' I could cut from :)

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  8. I have the otterbox defender and I was wondering how I would be able to do this on my case. Thanks

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    1. unfortunately this can't be done on the defender as it is a primarily rubber case (visibly speaking)

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  9. This is so cool!! This might be a stupid question but is it necessary to use a furniture paint? I found the perfect paint but it's for cars. What's the difference?

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  10. This is a great idea! Do you need to put primer down for your base if you dont want a white base? Could you just spray paint it without adding that?

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  11. I can't remember if there's rubber on this particular Otterbox, but if so, did the primer work for the rubber too? The case that was bought for me has white on the back, but the rubber that wraps around the phone, and consequently is visible on the front of the phone, is an ugly dark grey. I'm wondering if a white primer would fix that and not flake off.

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    1. I wouldn't advise painting the rubber-I'd use a color scheme with your paint to apply to the plastic only that will coordinate well with the color the rubber already is~

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