Custom Phone Case + PopSocket ft. Lizzie
- wingedmermaid
- May 2
- 3 min read
My husband and I finally upgraded our phones about a month ago, and at that point I discovered that any of the fun cases I'd had my eye on (like this Casetify x Barbie collab case) were completely sold out. I hunted through several designs and case sites, but nothing was calling my name. And then I realized it would cost the same to get a custom case from Casetify as it did to get any of their existing designs, so maybe I should just make my own! I'd used their cases a few times before and one had even prevented significant damage when I'd dropped my phone on some really rough concrete.
I decided this might be a good opportunity to make something American Girl related, since there are no AG collabs or cases (or at least, that I know of). My first attempt was a drawing of Elizabeth, sitting on a bench and reading. I basically tried to recreate this Felicity painting, but with Elizabeth looking at a little black cat seated next to her instead of looking directly at the book.
When I was mostly happy with it, I started looking for a matching PopSocket. If you're unfamiliar with them, they're little circular pieces that stick on to your phone (with adhesive or magnetically) and pop open to help you grip the phone while you're using it or pop closed when you need to put your phone away. I first heard about them years ago from Jenna Marbles, queen of the YouTubes, and have been using them ever since. They've kept me from dropping my phone at least a few times, and have made everything from taking photos to using my phone one-handed a LOT easier.
I searched and searched, but I couldn't find anything that really matched the image well. Luckily, PopSockets also offers a customization section, which I'd already used before and been happy with the result. I decided to go with a photo of my doll-sized Felicity summer hat to match the outfit Elizabeth was wearing in my drawing.
I put in the order for the PopSocket, finalized the drawing and put in the order for the Casetify case, then waited impatiently for both to arrive.
The PopSocket arrived just a few days later, looking exactly as I hoped it would. The Casetify case, however, did not arrive. I contacted their customer service and they basically told me to wait a little longer, and when it still didn't arrive, they admitted it might have gotten lost and asked if I wanted to try again. By this point, I'd already read about other people's more recent experiences with them. When I'd gotten my first case from them several years ago, their customer service had been really good. According to most people, that was no longer the case. I decided to ask for a refund and went back to the drawing board.
The lost case turned out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise. I decided to make the PopSocket and the case mesh together a little better by creating an image where it looked like the hat was hanging loosely at Elizabeth's back. Was it historically accurate? Nope! But would it look pretty? I thought it might!
I dressed Lizzie in the summer outfit and painstakingly adjusted everything that might be visible on the phone case -- her hair, her bow, the dress, the sash, the way her arms and head were positioned -- everything! Once I had a photo I was happy with, I cut away the background in Photoshop and then added a photo of Colonial Williamsburg as a backdrop. I altered this photo a lot, trying to make it look similar to some of Renée Graef's illustrations (her style always makes me think of the older American Girl books).
It took a few tries to get the dimensions just right, but once I was satisfied, I ordered the case and waited eagerly for it to arrive.
It came yesterday and I am SO happy with how it turned out!
I've never used PopSocket's cases before, so I hope it'll be just as sturdy as the Casetify cases. I am SO happy with how the design looks! I forgot that custom-printed stuff is a little pixelated (or at least textured), so the effect I added to the background to make it look like a printed book illustration isn't as apparent up close, but overall, I think it turned out well! Any other outfit with a round hat would work well, too.
Now I feel like I'm bringing my favorite doll with me wherever I go! 😁
