TARDIS Phone Case Tutorial

I finally went to see The Woman in Black last night!

I’ve been wanting to see it for-e-ver for two reasons:

1. Dan Radcliffe. ‘Nuf said.

2. I really thought it looked like a good, creepy-scary movie.

I went to a 7:30 showing, at a theater I’d never been to before, in a mall I didn’t even know existed, in a town I can’t find my way around without GPS, alone. Just me. All by myself.

Since I have been wanting to see this for-e-ver, I decided not to let everyone else’s lack of interest stop me.

Here are my thoughts on the experience as a whole:

Scary.

When I finally found the “mall” that had the theater in it, the parking lot was practically empty. I wasn’t sure where would be the best place to enter, so I found a main mall entrance and parked. Upon entering the mall, I was first struck by the old bowling alley/grandma’s house smell that permeated the air. It was clean, though, so I persevered. The mall itself was just like any other, if a little dated, except that 75% of the shops were out of business, with heavy metal grates locked tight, and black plastic shifting ever-so-slightly in the light movement of stale air. Also, it was completely empty. I didn’t see another person in sight.

Okay, so that’s creepy.

I make my way around, hunting for the theater, and rushing past the empty store fronts as quickly as I dared without breaking into a run.The theater itself was tucked into a corner on the complete opposite end of the mall. It wasn’t deserted like everything else, though, and the smell of popcorn reached me well before I entered the theater. Altight. Things are looking up. The flashing lights of the arcade and the familiar sound of the concessions was comforting.

I bought my ticket, found my theater, grabbed a seat in the middle, broke out my movie stash (yes, I’m a candy smuggler), and settled in………to an almost completely empty room. There was only two other people in there with me. Well, that’s okay; I hate people who chatter throughout movies, so I was sure that wouldn’t be a problem here.

The movie was good. I liked it. I thought it was creepy and interesting. It was a little slow at times, getting into the mystery and the story, but once it did, it was suspenseful and scary. I was stumped by what was happening, and I wanted to solve the mystery behind the townspeople’s clear dislike of poor little Harry Potter Arthur Kipps. Dan Radcliffe was great. Aside from seeing him as Harry once or twice, he did an excellent job of NOT being Harry. He was sad and lonely, and convincing as the young widower.

The end of the movie was not wholly satisfying. And that’s all I’ll say.

As the credits rolled, I gathered my things, put on my coat, and headed out…….to a dark and empty lobby that was corded off, and wouldn’t allow me access back into the mall.

I knew it.

I had to exit the mall, walk all the way around the outside of the entire building, in the dark, alone. Just me. By myself.

I called my sister to keep me company while I walked, but the whole time, in my head, I was calculating my chances, should I stumble onto the apparition of a ghostly woman in black or a gaggle of zombies (I’m pretty sure that’s what a small group of zombies is called…a large group is definitely a horde, but I think smaller groups are gaggles). Honestly, I quickly waved off the fear of the woman in black, because she was just a ghost. She’s probably make me pee my pants in fear, but that would most likely be the extent of my terror and humiliation. The zombies on the other hand would try to chase me down and eat me alive. This, obviously, was the bigger concern.

I knew weapons were out. I had nothing, save half a roll of Thin Mints, an empty bottle of Sobe Lifewater, and my purse. Granted, my purse weighs, like, 65 pounds, but it’s not quite deadly enough to take out a zombie. I came to the realization that the one weapon I had on hand was cardio. I could definitely make it to my car before a zombie could catch me, as long as I was alert and ready to run. I even had sneakers on, so I was prepared. I’ve been training for this.

Alas, I was not set upon by rotting corpses hoping to digest my gray matter, so I didn’t get to put it to the test, but I did make it home safe and sound so that I could create this tutorial for you. You’re welcome.

I first shared my TARDIS iPhone case with you back in December. I had just upgraded my iPhone, and I desperately wanted a Doctor Who case for it, but I didn’t want just some picture of one of the Doctors printed on rubber and slapped on the back. I wanted something unique, cute, and girly in its own way. Fortunately, Jen Yates, of Epbot, had recently posted a DIY Phone Cover tutorial, so I used that as a guide, and created my glittery, sparkly TARDIS case myself.

All you need to make your own amazing TARDIS phone case is a pair of scissors, aluminum foil, white card stock, and TARDIS blue paper (the upgrade to glittery papaer is up to you, although I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want a shimmery, glimmery TARDIS, but whatevs).

You’ll also need a clear phone case. I have the Griffin Reveal for my iPhone. Any clear case will do, but I like the black rubber edging on this one; it’s grippy, and it’s bouncy…because I’m a klutz, I know this, and I also know that bouncy is good.

Press the foil carefully into the phone case, being sure to get it all the way to the edges and getting the full shape of the case. Next, either use a fingernail to just cut through the foil where it meets the edges of the case, or gently remove it, and use the scissors to cut the foil along the folded edge.

In the end, you should have a perfect foil template of your phone. You could also lay your phone on the foil and trace it, but sometimes, that is slightly too large for the case. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s true, trust me.

At this point, I traced the foil onto heavy white card stock, so that I’d always have a permanent template for my case.

Next I traced the template onto the glitter paper. I actually traced it onto the back (plain, white side), because it’s easier, but you get the idea.

You’ll notice that I’ve yet to do anything about the camera for my phone. That’s because I found that it’s easier to trace for the hole where the camera is after you get the paper cut to size.

Once the blue paper is cut, place it in the phone case and trace the hole where the camera will be. Then, using an Exacto craft knife, cut the tracing out. You may need to put the paper in the case and keep marking places that need to be trimmed slightly until you get it perfect.

Now comes the really fun part! The first time I made my TARDIS, I hand cut and detailed all of the pieces, but then when people started asking how to make their own TARDIS phone cases, I decided to make a little printable to help you out: TARDIS Phone Details. Just print this out at high quality and at 100% (do not scale in anyway), and cut the pieces out. You’re welcome.

These particular details are specifically sized to iPhones, since that’s what I have, but I see no reason why they wouldn’t work for any other phone out there…they just might not be quite so properly proportioned.

Once you have all of the pieces cut out, glue them in place with strong glue.

Lastly, I drew the remaining panels of the TARDIS doors on with black marker…nothing fancy; just enough to get the idea.

Pop your completed paper TARDIS into your case, put your phone in, and VOILA!!!! An awesome, unique, hopefully sparkly, geektastic phone case that you’ll never, ever want to change. Ever.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can also make the Doctor Who theme song (or the latest version) your ring tone, and the TARDIS sounds can be your text tone. At least…that’s what I did. Enjoy!

Tagged as: Crafts, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Phone Case, Doctor Who Phone Case Tutorial, Geekery, Girly Doctor Who Phone Case, how-to, iPhone, TARDIS, TARDIS Phone Case, TARDIS Phone Case Tutorial