iPhone case makeover

A few weeks ago I picked up my iPhone and realized that the case was very dirty. It even had a chocolate stain (or two) on it. (What can I say...I love chocolate). I admit, I was embarrassed when I realized how filthy the case actually was.  Not wanting to spend thirty bucks on a new case I decided to make over the one that I had.  Below is a recap of how I transformed my dirty case into a fabulous case.

First step - removing the fabric backing from my case. I gently picked at one corner of the fabric with my finger nail and I was surprised at how easy the fabric came up. It was very easy to gently pull the fabric back and remove it from the plastic case.

I tried to use goo-gone to remove the dried glue from the plastic case, but it didn't work.  So I just left the dried glue on the case.

Next, using the old stained purple fabric as a template, I carefully traced the shape onto my new fabric. I had decided to fussy cut out one of the skulls from the Alexander Henry 'skullduggery' line of fabric.

Using permanent markers I colored in the rose next to the skull.

Before cutting out the fabric, I traced around the lines with Fray Check and let it dry.

 After I cut out the fabric I put more fray check along the fresh cut edges. I did not want to take any chances of having the fabric fray while working on it.

Originally, I thought I would mod podge the new fabric onto the case, but then I remembered that I had Nunn Design UV jewelry resin which I had not tried yet. I decided this would be the perfect project to test out the resin.

I followed the steps in the kit, first using the glue to adhere the fabric to my plastic iPhone case. I put the glue on using an old paint brush. I had a hard time getting the corners to stick down and actually put a bit of glue on top of the fabric (as if it were mod podge) in order to get it to stick. I let it dry overnight.

The 2nd step is a sealant, that only needs 20 minutes to dry. Again I used a paint brush to apply it, but I let it dry overnight.

The 3rd step is the UV gel. The gel was a bit smelly, I recommend doing this in an area with ventilation. I also wore latex gloves to protect my skin in case I got messy. Let's face it...I make lots of messes. The gel itself was very thick and a bit hard to apply. Then again, the gel that I had was two years old, so a newer bottle might spread more evenly. After applying the gel with a brush I put the case under my UV light. It "baked" for 20 minutes. When I took it out, it was slightly tacky. The instructions said it would continue to harden for the next two hours. I decided to let it sit overnight.

The next day it was hard and shiny and pretty. But I could see where I had applied the gel unevenly. So I did a second coat...again letting the case harden overnight.

The end results are great. The case looks cool, and it's unique. The gel isn't 100% even, but I'm okay with that. I think it turned out fantastic for my first attempt using UV gel resin.

The case has also been holding up well to normal every day use. It's been tossed in my purse, pants pockets, gym locker and even spent some time in an ice rink and it's just as shiny and new looking as the day I made it. Overall I love it the case and I'm impressed with the Nunn Design UV resin.  I can't wait to make more stuff with it.