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Whether you’re staying faithful to your old friend the iPhone 4, or you’ve just upgraded to the brand, spanking new iPhone 5S, you probably already know the importance of keeping your handset safe, dry and protected. Not only is a case or bumper the best way of preventing your iPhone from suffering knocks, scratches and scrapes, it’s also a great way to make your device look a little bit different and stand out from the crowd. If you’ve searched high and low for a case that suits your style and personality, but can’t find anything that quite ticks all the boxes, don’t worry – simply take the customisation route. Whether you’re looking to utilise your own artwork or photography, or add some serious sparkle, adding your own touch to an existing plain case couldn’t be easier.

Grab the Glue Gun

The most obvious way to get hold of a completely unique and one-off iPhone case is to simply grab a plain white or coloured hard shell, and work on it yourself. Choose from haberdashery and embellishments such as metal studs, beads, buttons and diamantes and then simply stick them to the case using a hot glue gun; it’s worth taking a little extra time to plan out your design first, though, as once they’re stuck down, they’re on for life!

You can also use a glue-based product called Mod Podge to create collages and attach your own printed images, paper or fabrics. Plan out your design, then after making sure the case is clean and dry, spread a layer of Mod Podge on, followed by whatever decoration you’re using. Once it’s completely dry, paint another layer of Mod Podge on top to seal it, and make sure it’s waterproof, and you’re done. You can use literally anything for this method; printed paper, wrapping paper, wallpaper, your own photographs or drawings, paper doilies, fabric scraps.... the only limit is your own imagination!

Ask the Professionals

If you’re not the DIY type, don’t panic – you can still get a completely original case for your iPhone with a more professional finish. The internet is full of companies who offer services that let you both design your own case, or upload your own illustrations or images and then turn them into a hard shell or skin for you.

CaseApp allows you to upload your photograph and then edit it on screen, with the options of adding text, clipart and different backgrounds. They then print your final design onto a skin or case using a four-colour printing process, which gives excellent resolution and colour reproduction results. Uncommon is similar, with the added bonus that you can position, scale and rotate your image to get the effect you truly want – they also only use cases made from premium impact resistant polymers, and the high-tech thermo-active printing process transfers the ink deep into the case (rather like a tattoo), so you know that your case will be built to last.

Turn to Instagram

If you’re a serial photographer, and find yourself posting to Instagram several times a day, you might find that this is the ideal place to look for the perfect image for your iPhone case. With a huge range of editing software available on the Apple Store, your Instagram images are probably some of the most creative you’ve ever taken; the hundreds of available filters and effects can take an otherwise ordinary picture and turn it into something totally original. Casestify is a great website; connect to your Instagram account and then either scroll through and manually choose the images you want to include, or hit ‘shuffle’ and allow the site to pick for you. You can swap photos and move them around at any stage, and once you’ve finalised your design, it’s printed onto a case of your choice and then posted out to you – what’s even better is that they offer worldwide free shipping, so all you have to pay for is the case.