Make a Decoden Phone Case
Decoden essentially means Decorated Phone (den is short for denwa, which means phone) and is very popular amongst the Lolita style, however anyone can make and use a decoden phone case! Below are steps on making different styles!
Steps
Whipped Style
- Using a chaulking gun, add 4-5 pumps of 100% silicone which is available at many craft and hardware stores (you may even find some in an old toolbox you own!) into a clean disposable cup or bowl. Add coloured pigments or oil paint (acrylic can dry it out too quickly) to give it some colour, and/or glitter!
- Feel free to add as much or as little paint or pigment as needed or wanted to reach your desired shade
- Fine and chunky glitter both work, whichever you prefer.
- Place the phone case on a silicone doming mat so it doesn’t move around. If you don’t have one, some ordinary poster tac will do. Use a nail file, sandpaper, or a blade to scratch the case. This helps the silicone stick to the case.
- Make sure you don’t cut through the case!
- Add lots of scratches to help the case become more durable.
- Add the silicone into a piping bag with a star tip. Use a ruler to scrape the silicone down closer to the tip. Pipe out a tiny amount to get rid of any air bubbles. Begin piping in small “pipe and pull” motions. Squeeze some silicone out, then quickly pull away, creating a small dollop. Continue in rows until your case is fully covered.
- Leave a small gap at the bottom and do a row of whip sideways if you’d like
- Take your time!
- Don’t make your dollops directly beside each other as this causes gaps, instead, pipe them in where the gaps in the previous row are (beside the spot where a new dollop connects, or where you “pulled” the silicone.
- Now get some resin cabochons, which can be purchased online or made at home using craft resin. Place them gently on your silicone whips, layering more silicone if needed. If a reference photo was taken beforehand, you shall use that now.
- Place them gently, pressing too hard will cause the silicone to move and rest around the cabochon, which you don’t want.
- Let the case fully dry before attempting to put it on your phone. Never press on the cabochons while putting on or taking off your case. See tips section for more detail on how to do this.
Whipped Frame
- Follow step one on “Whipped Style” to prepare the silicone for use.
- Place the image you would like to use on your case. Make sure that you size it properly so that the whole image fits on your case, leaving extra space on the edges for your decoden whip.
- Remember to leave extra space around the edges and camera hole for the silicone.
- Prepare some resin. Add glitter or food colouring if desired, just remember to keep it clear. Carefully and steadily pour the mixture over your phone case, giving it a nice and even coating. It should completely cover the case. Carefully use a lighter to get rid of any air bubbles in the resin, just don’t hold it too close or it will make the resin have a crusty layer. Yuck!
- Place your phone case on a tray or something similar while pouring the resin over your image, but remember to move it to a different surface to dry so that the excess resin doesn’t stick to your case.
- Make sure to get rid of any air bubbles
- If the image moves, put it back quickly using a skewer or tweezers
- Once the resin has fully dried, carefully make scratches using a nail file, sandpaper, or any blade only around the edges where you want the deco whip. This helps the silicone stick to your case.
- Follow step 3 of the “Whipped Style” case, leaving the image part of the case free.
- Don’t pipe the silicone onto the image, that completely defeats the purpose of putting it in in the first place. The goal is to create a frame, to showcase the image, not cover it!
- Add any other cabochons you like, such as flowers, bows, hearts, etc. around the whipped border. Again, try not to cover the image with big cabochons. Also be gentle.
- Allow the case to fully dry before attempting to put on your phone. Never push on the cabochons when putting on or taking off your case. See tips section for more detail on how to do this.
Bling Style
- Print out a design or picture of your choice. Don’t pick one too complicated unless you have lots of rhinestones and lots of time. Tape it face down inside of a clear phone case.
- The more basic the picture, the better.
- Choose a strong adhesive. Silicone is a good choice, but you can also use super glue or any other strong glue. If you use silicone, remember to always scratch your case using sandpaper or a blade, and rather than using it as a whip, spread it using a paint brush and make sure it is clear so you can see the image underneath.
- After putting down your silicone (if you’re using glue, you can place it directly on the back of the rhinestone), use the photo as a guide and place the rhinestones down onto the case. Use pointed tweezers or a needle with a bit of clay or school glue on it to pick up and place the rhinestones.
- Allow the case to fully dry, and take off the taped image from the inside. Enjoy!
Tips
- To put on your case, carefully slide in your device and gently push on the corners to secure it. Remember to never push in the cabochons.
- To take off the case, gently slide a card or your nail into the side until it begins to pop off. Gently and carefully remove your phone.
- To clean your case, wet a cotton swab or cloth and gently swipe away dirt and dust.
Warnings
- Remember that Decoden cases are extremely fragile and shouldn’t be used as protection, but as decoration. Repeated dropping can cause damage to the case.
- R
