DIY Silhouette iPhone Case

I hope everyone is having a great start to 2012! I took a little blog break last week, but I'm officially back into the swing of things.



To start off the 2012 blogging year right, I've got a fun little diy project today to share with you guys:: how to make an embossed silhouette iPhone case.


This past November I officially became an iPhone owner. I was a Blackberry user for the past several years. Let me just say, the iPhone has changed my life. For me, it is so much easier to take and share photos and stay connected through Twitter and Facebook which has been great for both the blog and my shop.

When I got my phone, I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a case, so I got a clear plastic one from Monoprice for less than a dollar!


I opted for a white iPhone and liked that you could still see the white on the back with the clear case. The cheap clear case has been great, but I've been itching for something more fun.

Back in December during my 12 Days of Christmas series, I mentioned that I loved these silhouette cases from le pepier studio.

Super adorable, but pricey with a $42 price tag. So, I wondered how I could maybe make my own version.
Back in October, Erin from the fabulous How To Nest for Less posted a tutorial on how to make your own iPhone covers using scrapbook paper. After re-stumbling upon her post, I figured out how I could make my own silhouette iPhone case!

Since I liked the look of the white phone, I used a piece of scrap white cardstock.


I traced the outline of the case onto the cardstock and also traced around the camera opening at the top.


Once I had the entire case outlined, I cut it out.


Once the edges were trimmed down enough and it fit perfectly into the back, I cut out the camera hole opening.


I already had some super cute silhouette stamps that I used on some of my notecards in my shop. I picked out my favorite one and got all my supplies ready.


Now, you can easily just stamp the back and be done with it, but I wanted mine to have a bit of texture and shine to it, so I opted to emboss it. The process to emboss is super simple. All you need is an embossing heat machine, similar to this one.

I got mine at Paper Source for $20-30.

You'll also need some embossing powder.


If you use clear powder, the stamp color you use will come through. Or you can buy colored embossing powder and that's the color that will come through instead.

After you have pressed your stamp into your ink and pressed it onto the paper, you immediately pour your embossing powder onto it while it's still wet.


After you've covered your inked surface, just slightly bend your paper in half and pour the remaining powder that didn't stick back into your container.

Next you'll turn on your embosser and apply the heat directly to the image you want embossed.


Warning, this device gets super hot really fast. Be sure to not hold it over just one spot for too long. You'll start to see the embossing powder somewhat crystalize and become shiny. Once the entire image has done this you're done!


Here's the finished product in the case.




This project only took a total of 10-15 minutes and cost me nothing since I already had all the supplies. Wahoo!

If you didn't want yours to just be black and white, you could find some fun patterned cardstock and use any stamp color to go on top.

So, what do you think? Definitely better than paying $42 for something similar right?

I'm linking this project up on::
Brassy Apple
Home Stories A to Z
Blue Cricket Design
Shabby Creek Cottage
The Shabby Nest
Tatertots and Jello