Introduction: Custom Accessories the Wild Way
This tutorial will show you how to customize phones, Ipods, and pretty much any accessory you want. Show your creativity with your own original design, or simply find one online.
Sure you can buy cool cases for your phone, what about your stapler? or even your laptop? (and not to mention some cases can make your phone super bulky)
This is especially great if you have an old phone or ipod that you want to hide all the scratches on.
You can even write your name into something.
The great part is NO ARTISTIC ABILITY NEEDED!!!
Materials:
Accessory(s) you want to customize
Nail polish in whatever colors you want
X-acto knife
your unique design or one found online
wax paper
tracing paper (suggested)
low tack artist tape, electrical tape will work too. The wider the better.
a smile on your face =)
Sure you can buy cool cases for your phone, what about your stapler? or even your laptop? (and not to mention some cases can make your phone super bulky)
This is especially great if you have an old phone or ipod that you want to hide all the scratches on.
You can even write your name into something.
The great part is NO ARTISTIC ABILITY NEEDED!!!
Materials:
Accessory(s) you want to customize
Nail polish in whatever colors you want
X-acto knife
your unique design or one found online
wax paper
tracing paper (suggested)
low tack artist tape, electrical tape will work too. The wider the better.
a smile on your face =)
Step 1: Chose/create Your Design
Using the amazing World Wide Web, find a cool simple design, or create your own. silhouette images are the easiest to work with. Print it out, and make sure the size of the image fits the object you want to decorate. On wax paper, lay a strip of art tape big enough to cover your image. if your tape is too thin, you might have to add another strip, and make sure they overlap slightly. if you're a good artist, you can draw your image directly on the tape. If not, trace your image on tracing paper, and place it over the tape. Using an X-acto knife, cut out the image, making sure you cut through the tape. Also, make sure you cut on a cutting board to protect whatever surface you're working on.
Step 2: Apply the Stencil
Since your tape is on wax paper, it will be easy to peel it of and place it on your phone/accessory. Make sure you peel off the negative image, not the actual design so your image won't be an outline. (unless of course that's what you want). Make sure the tape is smooth, and you cover any areas that you don't want paint on, such as screens and buttons. Using the nail polish color you want, fill in your stencil. WAIT UNTIL THE POLISH IS DRY. I am insanely impatient, and i can never wait, so my edges don't always come out clean. Gently peel off the tape, and VOILA!
Step 3: Tiger Stripes
Tiger stripes and animal prints are in style! and they are the EASIEST way to decorate anything. Just cut out wild gagged lines in your tape, peel, stick, paint, peel again, and you can reuse that same piece of tape on a different area, so you don't have to cut out a huge stencil.
Step 4: If You Consider Yourself an Artist
If you consider yourself an artist and want to try layering with different colors then here's your guide.
Chose your image, and decide what sections of your design do you want to be a certain color, and trace that section. go through steps one and two using your stencil. Pick the areas for your second color, and repeat steps one and two. You can do this as many times as you want until you get your final product. Its a good idea to sketch out all your stencils first before you cut them to make sure they line up nicely. Also keep in mind that details should be kept to the last stencil, and translucent colors don't show up well on top of darker colors.
FYI this is my first attempt at a multi-layer image so it isn't very impressive =/
Chose your image, and decide what sections of your design do you want to be a certain color, and trace that section. go through steps one and two using your stencil. Pick the areas for your second color, and repeat steps one and two. You can do this as many times as you want until you get your final product. Its a good idea to sketch out all your stencils first before you cut them to make sure they line up nicely. Also keep in mind that details should be kept to the last stencil, and translucent colors don't show up well on top of darker colors.
FYI this is my first attempt at a multi-layer image so it isn't very impressive =/