02/04/2012 - Pull Tab Cuff

I was determined to make this bracelet work. I wouldn't call this exactly a successful project, but it is the general idea of what I wanted to accomplish. From what I understand, aluminum cannot be soldered and I believe welding a small aluminum tab would just melt it, so I am on a quest to find a way to hold these pieces together and super glue was just my temporary solution.

Reclaimed Material: aluminum pull tab
Other/New Material: none 
Tools: super glue, (2) pliers, patience

How I did it: I took 8 pull tabs from cat food cans and made sure they were clean and bend down the jagged part on the bottom hole. I began by overlapping two tabs with the bottom overlapping, using super glue in between the tabs, then overlapping the top over a new tab, super gluing, etc. After the super glue set, I put the strip of tabs over my wrist to determine where to bend it to fit. I clamped a pair of pliers on one side of the hole where I wanted to bend the piece and the second pair of pliers on the other side of the hole and slowly bent the aluminum and continued this in the sections needed to fit my wrist. To be quite honest, I was very impatient with this and did not give the super glue enough to fully set and the tabs popped away from each other when I first started bending them by hand.
 
What I would do differently: I am determined to find a solution to melting this tabs together other than using caustic glue which really is not a great solution because it can break apart. Using the pliers scuffed up the aluminum, which could be good if I want a weathered look.

01/19/2012 - Pop Tab Bowl

I was curious to see if I could make a little change or jewelry bowl by weaving pop tabs together. This took me much longer than I thought it would and didn't quite turn out how I pictured it in my mind. I guess this could also be used as a doll hat instead.


Recycled Material: aluminum pop tabs
Other Material: ribbon
Tools: scissors, small safety pin, long nosed pliers


How I did it: I began by weaving the bottom row of tabs together then added another row by using the ribbon to weave the bottom of the second row of tabs to the tops of the first row (I will create a detailed instruction page with photos on how to weave pop tabs at a later date). I then pulled the ends of the ribbon to form a circle with the woven tabs and tied the ribbon off. I thought about stopping there and just making a flower brooch, but I would have just wondered...what could have been, so I kept going. For the third row, I used the pliers to bend the tabs in half between the top and the bottom then used the ribbon to attach it to the second row. I added three more rows, tying off the ribbon as I completed each row.

What I would do differently: I think my vision would have come to life if I used wire so that I could have shaped the bowl better. The ribbon is too soft to hold the shape very well. I may try soldering tabs into a bowl and see what happens. I also thought about turning this into a tulip somehow since that is what it looks like to me.

01/14/2012 - Pop Tab Stretchy Bracelet

Again, I am going to toot my own horn about my pop tab prowess...after working with thousands and thousands of these things, I have figured out a few tips that will make working with them much easier.

1. Make sure you wash them. If you have a large quantity, just throw them in a bucket of soapy water, rinse and spread out on a towel to dry.
2. If you are taking them off the can, push the tab back and forth so there is a clean break from the piece that attaches it to the can. Trust me, this will save you time later and you won't have to remove these pieces.
3. If you have tabs that were pulled from the can and have either the whole piece of the can connector (this piece is usually square with a circle punched in it) or sharp edges from the connector, they need to be removed. This can be done with a pair of clippers or pliers by either snipping of the piece or using the pliers to bend the connector piece back and forth to make a clean(ish) break.
4. The bottom part of the back side of tab my still have sharp edges. You can try flattening it with pliers - but this could leave marks on the front of the tab. Whenever possible make sure the back of the bottom part of the tab is covered with something (ribbon, cloth, another tab with the back sides facing) if you are going to wear the piece you are making from the tabs.

Recycled Material: aluminum pop tabs 
Other Material: beads, clear stretchy jewelry cord
Tools: scissors

How I did it: This bracelet has 24 pop tabs so I made sure that they were prepared as recommended above. I took two tabs and placed the with the back sides facing together and looped the stretchy cord a couple times and tied a knot on the left side of the bottom hole of the tabs to hold it in place. This is the first time I have used this stretchy cord and I think it is absolutely annoying. The wraps holding the tabs together kept coming loose and the tabs would get all mixed up on a string on clear cord. I have made this style bracelet many times, but always used ribbon until now. After the cord was secure I suspended a bead on the cord in the middle of the bottom hole then wrapped the cord around the right side of the bottom tab a couple times then tied a knot. I found that if you stretch this cord as you are knotting it, it will hold much better. The next thing that I did was to get two new tabs and repeat the process. The only difference is that I did wrap the cord around the left side of the bottom hole of 2nd set of tabs, but didn't knot it. I pulled the cord so that both sets of tabs were flush then wrapped the cord twice around the bottom right side of the first set and bottom left of the second. Since the tabs kept getting loose because the top was not yet secured, I used a couple clothespins to hold them together. I repeated the steps of suspending the bead and wrapping the cord. I did this for 12 sets then tied off the end, but did not close the bracelet at that time. You don't have to use 12 sets of pop tabs, you can make it as big or small as you need it. If I am making something for myself, I always try to put is on as I go along to get an idea of size....measuring is an ever smarter idea. I repeated the entire process for the top set of holes on the pop tabs. The last thing I did was tied the two ends together - top hole to top hole, bottom hole to bottom hole. I was paranoid about the cord coming loose so I must tied about six knots on both the top and bottom then trimmed the excess cord.

What I would do differently: I need to look up tips on working with this stretchy cord because there must be a smarter way to use it. I do like the stretchiness of the cord (obviously) and its transparency. In the future, I will probably weave a ribbon through the top while I am securing the bottom or vice versa to hold it in place. It also looks like I have an obsession with red beads...so I need to diversify.

01/07/2012 - Cut Aluminum Bracelet

I consider myself to be an expert in matters related to pop tabs (trashy fashions) but this is the first time I have tried changing the tabs themselves.

Recycled Material: aluminum pop tabs
Other Material: beads, jewelry wire, bracelet closure
Tools: long nose pliers

How I did it: I snipped off the bottoms of the pop tabs but left about a and 1/8" overhand to bend over so that it turned the top of the tab into a "D" shape. I cut 14 tabs like this, then paired them up with the flat ends facing and looped jewelry wire around each pair 3 times. I did this somewhat loosely to give it a little movement. After those were done, I connected the pairs with a piece of jewelry wire with a bead on it. I only wrapped the wire around the aluminum tab once and then wrapped it tightly twice so it was tight between the bead and aluminum. Lastly, I added the jewelry closure.

What I would do differently: Next time I cut aluminum, I need to pay better attention to using pliers on them. The aluminum is so soft that the pliers left small marks on the fronts of the tabs. It kind of worked with this bracelet and gave it more character. Also, I just have the closure set to hook onto the last tab piece. Next time or if I feel the need I will add a loop for the closure. It works, but I think it does not look as finished.

01/04/2012 - Aluminum Tab Ring

These bigger aluminum tabs are from the tops of cat food cans and I thought they would be interesting to use for projects because of the gold-ish color. I ended up using more beads that I intended so it is not as much recycled content as I wanted but I am happy with how it turned out.

Recycled Material: aluminum tabs from cat food cans
Other Material: transparent green beads, jewelry wire
Tools: long nose pliers with clippers

How I did it: The first thing I did with the tabs was to make sure there were no sharp or ragged edges on the part that gets pulled of the can lid. I arranged 5 tabs so that the bottoms overlapped (when working with tabs I refer to the tops as the smooth side that is pulled and the bottoms as the part that is attached to cans) and arranged the tops like flower petals and wrapped copper-colored wire around the 5 bottoms to hold them in place. I used one long piece of wire and then strung (stringed?) 10 beads on the same wire used to hold the tabs in place. Then made a circle with the bead/wire to cover the bottoms of the tabs and wrapped the excess wire every 2 or 3 beads to attach it to the tab bottoms. Next I took another tab and used the pliers to snip off the bottom leaving about 1/8" to bend so that I had an oval and no jagged edges. Then I attached the oval ring on top of the other tabs and the beads, again using the same piece of wire. I ran out of my long piece of wire at this point and used a new piece and strung 5 beads and again circled them to cover the oval ring then pulled the wire down the center and pulled it around on two opposite sides. With the remaining wire I pulled it down the center again and wrapped it around the other pieces of wire to hold it and tucked the end in with the pliers so it wouldn't poke out. For the final step I strung one bead and bent the wire so I could pull the two ends down the center. Then I wrapped one end in a circle three times for the ring base. I used my finger as a guide for sizing. Then I wrapped the two ends between the base and the top, again tucking in the ends.

What I would do differently: First of all, I need to practice my wiring, beading and jewelry making, but overall I am happy with how this turned out.