Whether you want to change the color, add a little personalization, or just jazz it up a bit, there's a way for you to customize your iPad's Apple-stock Smart Cover. Some of these projects can be done at home (with just coffee!), while others involve a small investment (and shipping away your Smart Cover for a while). But one thing's for sure: Nobody else will have a case like yours!
Dye It
1. Start with a light-colored leather Smart Cover.
2. Brush over it with either a shot of espresso or a treatment of leather oil to darken the color. (There's a tutorial for the coffee-stained Smart Cover at Two Lives Left.)
3. Enjoy!
Laser Engrave It
1. Start with any Smart Cover.
2. Mail it in to a laser engraving company like MakeItUrz or In a Flash Laser (both will engrave your Smart Cover for $30-$40).
3. Choose any design, like text, icons or even images, to engrave.
4. Enjoy!
Emboss It
1. Start with a leather Smart Cover.
2. Buy a leather stamping kit, and follow the included instructions to emboss a design (like a monogram or small icon) onto your Smart Cover.
3. Enjoy!
Alternatively, you can buy this vintage-look embossed leather cover from Etsy seller punkassjim:
(Images: Two Lives Left, user Section215 via MacRumors, MakeItUrz, In A Flash Laser via Flickr, Etsy seller punkassjim)
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Ummmm, you've got a typo in the last sentence: it should read "...Etsy seller punkassjim". :)
Be warned, punkassjim's gorgeous cases can't be folded up like a normal smart cover to make a stand. For that reason only, I'm sad to say I have to pass.
Thanks for including In A Flash Laser in your post. We do 100s of smart covers each month. Many are for corporate (logos, gifts, etc) but the personal ones are always the most fun!
I'm not sure leather stamping would work on Apple's smart covers - the leather itself is very thin and there's a board material in the middle that might not hold a stamp mark well. I'd love to hear from anyone that did it successfully though!
I agree with Sara, the leather on the Apple Smart Covers is extremely thin. And the substrate within the cover is hard fiberglas resin, which doesn't absorb an impression either, so most leatherworking tools won't do much to customize your garden-variety Apple Smart Cover.
@GinnieLizz, I understand, it's definitely not for everyone. Me, I use mine with a TwelveSouth Compass stand. And, since my cover doesn't fold up, it a) doesn't flop around back when you're holding it, b) doesn't get dirty in just one weird place, and c) doesn't lose its embossed design over time.
First of all thank you so very much for the compliment of including us in your blog. Being a husband/wife/kid/dog run laser/maker studio we take every order and every mention to heart. Thank you so much!!
I love all the ideas on this page, whether feasible or not, it is exciting to see people are trying and thinking of ways to make mass produced things more personalized. We won't know what works till we try, right?
Good luck to all those makers out there! Keep the awesome ideas flowing!
Thank you again for the mention and I apologize it was so very late.
The MakeItUrz Team!