Handmade Moleskine iPhone Case

Nobody would expect a notebook to be so deceitful.

Moleskines are quite possibly the greatest little  notebooks on the planet. While there may be issues with certain fountain pen inks and overall paper quality, its hard to bash these compact, highly functional and dare I say... cute little notebooks? As far as durability, the Moleskine is fantastic, especially in the hardcover iteration. Though the colors are limited in the hardcover series, there seems to be little that is classier for the price. At this point I will restrain myself from waxing on about my love of stationery products and get to the point. I've found a way to get even more out of a Moleskine notebook, taking it way beyond being just a notebook.

I've turned a Moleskine notebook into my new cell phone case! I now don't appear to staring mindlessly at my phone, but rather, poring over handwritten notes in my notebook.

When I was searching for cases for the iPhone 4, I realized that there weren't any that could really do what I wanted for how exorbitant the prices were. So many cases are clunky and difficult when it comes to using the iPhone. I suppose this case is no exception, but it is the deception this case is capable of, which makes it so great. I feel it is important to mention that Moleskine does make a case for the iPhone, but it is really only practical as a notebook for lefties, and its honestly pretty clunky too.

What looks like a Moleskine notebook is opened up and found to be a "book vault" similar to those that we made as children to hide our belongings. Not only does the Moleskine attract less attention from thieves, but it protects the phone very well too! Paper is naturally not waterproof, but the Moleskine hard cover is surprisingly tough over the month of testing I've subjected it to.

You too can escape the judgment of others whilst staring at your phone screen by appearing to be reading from a classy and sophisticated little notebook. Its actually quite easy. I didn't photograph my steps, but it isn't brain surgery.

The "guts" of the my creation!

Using some card stock, I traced and then cut out an outline of my phone, giving myself some wiggle room on the sides. Err on the side of small here however, because you can always make it bigger, but never smaller. Take a Moleskine notebook, new or used, and trace out the outline on the page and then, using an Exacto knife, cut one or two pages at a time. Trying to cut any more than that can get sloppy. The pages are a bit brittle at this point, so wood glue is the perfect way to seal the pages together. Apply a very small amount of wood glue to the inside of the notebook and place the notebook under some weights, careful that the wood glue doesn't seal the book closed. Once the glue is dry, place your phone inside and you have the ultimate iPhone case and perhaps the greatest Moleskine notebook ever.

Notes and Disclaimers: I've decided not to carve out a headphone jack hole. Yes, you do have to take the phone out to talk on it and to use the camera.  I have not had any issues with the phone falling out, but be cautious, because there is nothing actually holding the phone in the case. I left a few pages at the beginning uncut so as to allow for the greater illusion of a notebook.  Have fun and enjoy the ultimate notebook!

Eternally inked,

The Classicist