DIY Glitter Phone Cases | Glitter Phone Covers

Glitter phone cases are ridiculously overpriced right? Or if you’re like me, they don’t even make them for your phone at all… which totally sucks.  Well thanks to blogger IamStyle-ish, I was inspired to create my own.  Her infamous pin is blowing up on Pinterest, and while her blog gives detail on how to glitterize a clutch with an ode to glitterizing an iPhone cover, I successfully attempted to glitz my own Droid Razr phone case; now I’ve decided to give the World Wide Web a DIY on glitter phone cases.

What You’ll Need:

• Phone Case (mine was my husband’s Otterbox… shhh he doesn’t know yet – Mwah ah ah)
• 200 grit sandpaper
• A small, shallow Tupperware container
• A needle
• Martha Stewart fine glitter in the color of your preference (for the copper finished product pictured, I used “Bronze”; the in-progress glitter color being used is “Sterling”)
• A foam brush
• One 12”x12” piece of tinfoil
• A canvas mat to lay underneath my project area

The Fab Process:

1. Use the tinfoil to line your Tupperware container.  Gently press the tinfoil down into the bottom of your container and wrap the edges tight.  Be careful not to puncture the foil and create any holes.
2. Use the 200 grit sandpaper to “rough up” your phone case.*  A lot of phone cases are shiny and have a gloss coating on them that make it difficult for paint or any substance to adhere.  Since we want this stuff to really stick, grind that crap off and make as many scratches in the case as you can.  Don’t worry about how horrible it looks; this will all be covered up with GLITTER!  *If your phone case has suffered some past trauma and is already pretty roughened up,  you might be able to skip this step.  Use your best judgment.
3. Pour some Modge Podge into your lined Tupperware container.
4. Add in glitter, making the mixture 1/3 Modge Podge, 2/3 glitter; and thoroughly mix the two “ingredients” together, scraping the bottom of the tinfoil as you stir to ensure it’s mixed together really well.
5. Now you’re ready to start painting your mixture on.  The mix should be fairly thick, similar to the consistency of pancake batter.  Notice that in the photo it’s sticking to my brush, without any drips.  If your mixture is runny or drips off the brush, it’s too thin; add more glitter. Total, you should paint 2-3 coats for full coverage.
6. When painting a phone case like mine (with rounded edges), paint a coat on all flat surfaces first.  After allowing it to dry for 15 minutes, paint a coat on the rounded surfaces; again, wait 15 minutes, and paint a coat on the flat surfaces.  Continue alternating like this until the entire surface of the case is fully covered with your glitter-Modge Podge mixture.
7. To clean up, simply remove the tinfoil liner with the brush inside, and discard!
8. Let the glitter phone case dry overnight before placing it back on your phone.  Now you have a custom glitter phone case and you can make an unlimited amount of colors, or even paint stenciled glittered designs on a case.  The possibilities are endless.

Some tips:

• Use the needle to remove any unwanted “paint” that got stuck in phone case openings.  My case has a tiny mic opening on the back that got some glitter mixture stuck in it so I quickly removed it while the glitter mix was still wet.  I just stuck my needle in the hole and wiggled it around a bit, clearing the hole out.
• Use the Modge Podge bottle as a stand while you paint and as a rest to let the glitter case dry on.
• If you paint coats on without enough dry time in between you can get tiny air bubbles, but don’t stress!  Use that same needle you used earlier and poke the air bubbles, then use your finger to gently flatten them down.  Keep an eye on your glitter case as it dries; you might have to pop the air bubbles more than once.

The Modge Podge is a flexible glue so rather than letting the glitter just flake off, it renders it malleable and allows it to bend and move, which makes it perfect for all the wear and tear that a phone case receives.  I’ve had mine for almost a week now and so far I haven’t noticed any glitter falling off on my carpet or clothes.  The glitter (like anything, of course!) will come off if you pick at it, so if you’re one of those girls (or boys!) who likes to pick off nail polish or paint, I’d probably refrain from the glitter cell phone case.  Also, I highly highly recommend Martha Stewarts glitters, or another fine grained glitter (check out embossing glitters!) because they are the most fabulous when it comes to sparkle, and that’s what we’re all after here, right?!