Here's how this article started: I was browsing eBay for something entirely unrelated, and somehow I found myself staring at a listing for 100 pop tabs from Rockstar energy drinks.
"Why in the world would someone buy 100 Rockstar tabs on eBay?" I wondered. The listing was in the Crafts category, so I had to know what the deal was here.
It turns out there is a whole cottage industry of people - mostly teenagers - making crafts out of energy drink tabs. I have mixed feelings about this, to say the least.
On the down side, it promotes the teenage consumption of energy drinks. It makes me feel like your mom to say this, but energy drinks are bad for everyone, especially kids. Even though I drink them myself, so I'm totally a hypocrite for saying so. BUT STILL.
Plus I feel like the tabs would be scratchy.
But on the other hand, it's a "free" source of crafting material, which is important when you're a teenager. It's I guess somewhat Earth-friendly, in that it saves those tabs from the waste stream (even though aluminum is very recyclable so it's not that big a deal). And it turns out that different energy drinks have different colored tabs which makes for an element of visual interest.
And finally, I had to begrudgingly admit that if I was still a teenager in high school (which I very much am not), I would think these bracelets were awesome and I would start collecting the tabs with fervor as soon as I watched this instructional YouTube video.
However, I think I can definitively state that no one should be buying the tabs off eBay to make these bracelets. I mean, come on! At least have the gumption to rummage through your school's recycling bin yourself. Let's have some artistic integrity in the field of crafting, shall we?
Image courtesy Flickr/Dawn Ashley
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