Victor Agreda/Superpixel.com
DCL
Thanks tipster Victor for coming up with a creative way to reuse those plastic milk jugs (hey, some areas don't recycle 'em so what else are you going to do?), and protect your brand new, iPhone. With a milk jug, a few rubber bands and a handful of brads, you too can make your own case (and feel like MacGuyver). Why buy a pleather or metal case when you can do it yourself?
Instructions to Make an iPhone Case from Old Milk Jug
1. First, you need the right supplies. A plastic milk jug, two pieces of regular letter-sized paper, a rubber band (a #9 is best), a paper clip or tape, three brass brads, and scissors or a hobbyists knife.
2. Next, cut the pieces of paper into the templates that you will need to use to mark where to cut on the milk jug. It's helpful at this point to have your iPhone handy to make sure the different stencils match the length and height of your phone. For a picture, you can find a few examples on Victor's website. Don't worry that the jug is not flat—the bends and ridges actually help give the case structure and hold your iPhone in better. Essentially you need three rectangles, each one successively wider than the last and a fourth piece that looks like a wine glass with a very long base.
3. Lay the paper pieces on the milk jug and get to cutting. Be careful and trim any particularly sharp edges. Now you're ready to begin assembly. The smallest rectangle is for your belt-loop, so put that away for now. Next, take the wine glass and bend the base around to the back of the glass and loop the edges over the front of the wine-glass. You should see the holder begin to take shape now. Use a paperclip or piece of tape to hold the twisted wine glass in place.
4. Take your knife and cut a slit in both of the overlapped ends that were technically the base of your wine glass when you first started. This is where you're going to punch the first brad through to hold the ends together. Don't cut through into the cup of the wine glass, otherwise the brad will scratch your iPhone. Now take the biggest rectangle and overlap the ends. Slide this "loop" over your twisted wine glass piece and attach at the same point where the brad is inserted (see above), using the same brad. Affix a second brad at the top of the rectangle and the wine glass to keep the unit together.
5. Almost done—its time to attach the belt loop. Cut a wider slit on the back side of the wine glass where the other brads are. Loop the medium sized rectangle through here and cut slits on the ends to affix the brad where the two pieces overlap. For more stability, loop a rubberband through itself and through the belt loop so that it knots down on the loop. Push it down to where the belt loop meets the holder and then stretch it around the entire case to hold your iPhone in place during travel.
6. And voila. One iPhone case. Since milk jugs are fairly easy to come by, if you don't get it right on the first try, don't worry, after another week's worth of cereal you'll be able to have another go at it. For more information, instructions or step by step pictures, check out the MacGuyver iPhone Holster.
