July 9, 2015

DIY Watercolored Phone Case

Rainy weather means I’m forced to stay indoors…and craft! I have a cupboard (or two…okayfine, THREE closets) packed with art supplies in our tiny condo (priorities!), and whenever I have extra time, I just open it up and see what I can make. Fuuuun, right? 😉

DIY_Watercolored_Phone_Case_00 DIY Watercolored Phone Case

I found some clear iPhone cases at Saizen (that P88 Japanese store), and a bought a few to test before hoarding. Here’s what else you’ll need for this craft:

gouache or watercolor + bleed proof white (available at Craft Carrot)

spray sealant / fixative (available in National Bookstore)

brushes & a palette

Painting your designs can be quite tricky because you have to think about it in REVERSE. You start with the details that you want to see on top of the design, and then work down to the background part of the design. In this case, the ‘background’ parts are the petals and leaves.

First step is to prepare your colors on the palette.

Gouache is basically watercolor with an opaque base. You can buy gouache in tubes, or you can mix some yourself using watercolor + bleed proof white. The amount of bleed proof white you add depends on how light/dark do you want the pigment to be.

DIY_Watercolored_Phone_Case_01 DIY Watercolored Phone Case

Do NOT add water to the paint because you want the cream consistency to stick to the plastic. I started with the centers of the flowers.

Then I added the highlights and shadows.

DIY_Watercolored_Phone_Case_02 DIY Watercolored Phone Case

Yes, highlights and shadows first, before the actual petals.

When applying the paint, it’s best to dab the pigment in (as opposed to swiping the brush).

Allow each layer to dry before applying the next layer.

DIY_Watercolored_Phone_Case_04 DIY Watercolored Phone Case

Here’s what it looks like from the back and front.

When the flowers were done, I painted the veins of the leaves.

DIY_Watercolored_Phone_Case_03 DIY Watercolored Phone Case

Again, veins first before the actual leaves! Once dry, fill the leaves in with color.

DIY_Watercolored_Phone_Case_06 DIY Watercolored Phone Case

I ended up painting all three phones so that my hands could work on something while letting each layer dry, haha.

Afterwards, I sprayed a few coatings of sealant (or fixative) and let it dry. The sealant created a speckled texture on the once-glossy phone case, but it definitely will protect your phone from the paint. That’s it! All done in an hour or so.