DIY Super Easy Original Phone Case

Last updated on 19 December 2016

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When I had my little Samsung S3 mini, I had quite a few cool cases for it. There was a pineapple one, a London map one, a funky swirly one. The list goes on. But over Christmas it basically died, and I had to get a new phone. I’m so glad I did. It’s amazing how you never realise just how badly something is (or rather isn’t) working until you get a new one.

I bought a Samsung J5 (bit of a Samsung loyalist, sorry Apple lovers), and it’s a great phone. I love it. But because it only came out last year, there weren’t many covers or cases around that weren’t just plain boring colours when I was looking for a cover. I ended up buying a clear one, and decided to make my own covers.

If the world wouldn’t provide, I’d do it myself. And it turned out to be the best decision ever, and when good decisions are made, they need to be shared. Now you, too, can make your own custom phone cases for your phone, of any make, model or size.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A clear phone case (mine is a soft rubbery one, but solid plastic would work just fine too)
Funky paper or images that you’d like to use as your cover (see end list for more ideas)
A pencil
Scissors and/or craft knife
A piece of card

1 | The first thing you’ll need to do is create a template of your phone so you can then use it over again for multiple case designs. To do this, take your piece of card and place your clear phone cover on top. Trace around it with the pencil. This is just going to give you the initial shape. We’ll fix it up in a minute.

2 | Cut out the shape you just drew. I would cut it on the inside of the line, rather that the outside. The outside of your phone cover will be slightly bigger than the inside (due to the thickness of plastic), so you’ll need to cut it a little smaller than your initial template.

3| Try putting the card template into your phone case. If it’s a bit tight, note where it needs trimming, and cut a very small part of the template away. Do this until the template fits snugly, but not so tight that it bends and distorts the card. Watch for the top and bottom curves on the corners, and at the bottom, where you plug in your charger etc. You don’t want it overlapping and bending under.

4 | Once it’s the right shape, pop it in the phone cover, turn the whole thing over and with your pencil trace any holes onto the card. My phone needed three gaps in the back here, but yours may only need one or two. It depends on your phone. You should now have X amount of hole shapes ready for cutting on the card.

5 | Take the card out of the cover again, and your going to cut out those holes. I used a craft knife for this part because it’s a little fiddly and the holes needed are small for scissors. However! If you can do it with scissors nicely then by all means go ahead.

Note: You’ll need to write on the template which side the pattern goes on. If your phone only has, for example, your camera on the back, and it’s in the middle, then it won’t matter. But my phone has the flash, the camera, and a speaker, all of which are different shapes and sizes, so I had to note which side of the template card the patterned paper goes on.

6 | You’ve done your template! Now the fun part! On the wrong side of your paper (not the patterned side), place your template card down, with the side that you want the pattern on facing down. Draw around the template card, making sure you include the holes.

Note: See the list at the bottom of this post for paper ideas. I used origami paper, and Harry Potter wrapping paper.

7 | Cut out your patterned piece, and the holes.

8 | Place your new cover into the clear phone case, making sure it fits okay (if not, give it a little trim), and tada! Put your phone in, and you’ve got yourself a brand new, custom made, phone case.

Once you’ve got the template, you can easily go mad and make hundreds of different covers that you can swap in and out of your clear case for the rest of your life.

Ideas for patterned paper: 
Origami paper
Wrapping paper
Old posters
Book pages (from old books, or photocopy your favourite scene from your favourite book)
Magazine pages
Create a collage on a piece of paper
Draw a picture

Let me know if you make one of these covers! I’d love to see them! Feel free to link Tweet me (@Anjali_Kay) or tag me on Instagram (@anjalikay). Or link up in the comments!