I'm back with my first DIY tutorial! A lovely Decodenning tutorial just to brighten up and kawaii-fy your phone ;D I've really been practicing to making these, but honestly I've only made about two, so I can't really say I some sort of master on creating Deco phone cases. If you've got any tips or tricks, make sure to comment so I can apply them when I make my next case!
First of all, let me just say that this tutorial will probably be useful because I can explain ALL the mistakes I made so you don't make those mistakes. It will clear up what methods are difficult to proceed with (namely, the ones that I used) and which methods would probably be more convenient.
Anyway, I will start off by introducing what exactly is Decoden to you!
Decoden is a super popular fashion trend started off in Japan. The 'deco' stands for decoration, whilst the 'den' is a shortened term for phone in Japanese. (OMG I just realised thats why they are called Den Den Mushi's in One Piece!!! What a revelation!) But just note that even though it stands for decorated phones, people even decorate consoles or headphones or mirrors in the same styles.
The cases are very over the top and kawaii, loaded with bright decorations (also known as cabachons) or little charms. Popular decorations are of food or iconic cute characters like Rilakkuma or Hello Kitty. These days, most decoden phones have a 'whippy' base, so it looks like the phone case is covered in cream! That was the sort of phone case I tried to go for today but I haven't loaded it with as much stuff as some people usually would.
Here are some amazing examples of decoden:
Source: Kawaiixcouture.tumblr.com
Source: royal-rainbow.tumblr.com
Source: fuckyeahdecoden.tumblr.com
Here's what you'll need:
(Pardon the blurry picture here) I've got some superglue just to firmly stick some of the decorations together at the end. Make sure you also have gloves when handling the superglue, otherwise you'll get your fingers stuck together
Some pretty rhinestones and pearl decorations! I don't really go overboard on this stuff, but I like to stick a few in the blank spaces on the phonecase. You can buy these reels online, at Amazon or Ebay for like 5 dollars.
I like to have some MAIN pieces for the phone, which are really the focal points on the case. I bought these two yummy food pieces from Morning Glory for about 4 dollars in total, then cut off the key ring part.
And other smaller decorations! These are the most fun to find. Remember those small toys you had as a kid? The pretty hair clips you used to wear? Maybe some childish necklaces you don't want anymore? Just collect all of these and you can include a piece of your childhood with your gadgets now :)
A piece of paper is always good to have so you can practice your super deco whippy skills!
And of course, you need to phone cases :) I ordered about 10 clear iPhone 5 cases off Amazon for like 5 dollars so once again, VERY CHEAP! Quality is questionable ;D
OKAY for the whipped cream, I've used white silicone. When you buy the bottle, to use, just cut off the tip of the can. I made a huge mistake the first time and tried to cut off the whole top. Silicone is actually very very sticky and it got EVERYWHERE, hence you can see all that silicone on the handle of the glue gun.
NEXT LET ME INTRODUCE MY SECOND MISTAKE HERE. You can see that I've used a glue gun. It's VERY tough to use and gives my hands the biggest work out, plus the silicone comes out quite uneven. A better option is to do what normal people do, and squeeze a whole lot of silicone into a piping bag then decorate the case like you are decorating a yummy cake. Silicone is about 10$ a bottle and can be bought at Target probably.
You also need icing tips to really make the silicone come out like cream. Just get a plastic set since they are really cheap, and they work very well. You need to attach these tips to the tip of the silicone bottle.
This is optional. It's a small bottle of 3D paint which you can drizzle on the phone. If you get brown, it'll look like chocolate, but my one is more pinky like strawberry on a super artificial donut ^_^ This is pretty expensive so you can decide whether you want it. I didn't even use it in this tutorial but I just wanted to show you in case you wanted to use it.
One more thing you might need is a nail file, or some sandpaper. I'll explain that in the method.
Ok, materials. DONE. Let's move on to the method →
Firstly, after preparing all the materials, I usually arrange the decorations on the case in the design I like, just so I know what I want to do with them after whippify-ing it. Make sure that all spaces are covered. I like to work on a colour combination of sorts, but if you like a rainbow mess, no judgements from this end :)
Now take a few practice runs of squeezing out the silicone onto your piece of paper. Maybe search up some techniques online to make it look extra realistic and practice different styles of 'icing'.
After you feel comfortable about it, you need to prep your phone case. Using the nail file or sandpaper, rub it against the case so you create a rough surface. This will allow the silicone to stick on better.
Then, using the techniques you've just perfected, squeeze the silicone along as much of the case as you want! I've chosen to cover my whole case in the 'whipped cream'. I suggest squeezing it out in columns, from top to bottom of the case so it looks much neater !
Now here's the fun part! Getting your decorations, just start sticking them wherever you want on the case, whilst the silicone is still damp. If you've got some stuff not sticking on fully, try to superglue parts of decorations together so that they are more firm on the phone case.
ALSO make sure to be aware of where your camera is. You don't want anything that will obstruct the camera, otherwise your photos will turn out horrible and the case will be a massive failure. *cough my first case cough*
Woohoo! This is the final product. I LOVE this case! :D It looks yummy ^_^
If you've used silicone like I did, I suggest letting this air out for a week, because it smells like vinegar and that smell lasts for DAYS. After a while though, the smell will go away and you can use the case freely. If you don't want to wait the week, you could get the proper whippy decorating cream made in Japan, but it's really expensive.
Be as creative as you want! And if you followed this tutorial; congrats on your new case!
Hope you found this useful and don't make the same mistakes I did ^_^ <3 Also let me know what tutorials you want to see in the future !
xx Heylinni
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