This week's featured Etsy seller is sjroemer who creates some very functional and amazingly pretty designs from washed pop can tabs.  She has been a crafter for many years who's creative fires were stoked when she read about a woman's craft co-operative in Brazil who was making purses out of aluminum pop can pulls.

She definitely seems to have mastered her creative techniques in the variety of purses and coin pouches that she makes out of soda pull tabs and nylon yarn.  The first purse featured on the left, is lined and uses over 400 tabs to make up the exterior and handle of the purse.  The purse has an overall "chain metal" feel while remaining very contemporary in it's overall appearance.  Regular readers of mine will know that I, a) love Etsy and how it supports small artisans instead of major coglomerates and b) love items that proudly display their former lives.  There's no mistaking that this purse is made out of pop can tabs once you take a close look at it.  What a great way to start an eco-friendly conversation with someone in line at the grocery store or show people how stylish living green-er can be!

This Etsy crafter sjroemer shows how completely the purse is transformer by a slightly different design and a different color of nylon yarn binding the tabs together.  Here's the million dollar question though, right?  Where on earth do

es she get all the pop can tabs??  Well, she purchases them from recycling facilities.  Many charities collect them for fundraising and then seel them to the bottle depots.  She in turn, buys the tabs from the bottle depot, sorts them for size and consistency and washes them twice with antibacterial soap before using them.

Need a small gift for your child's teacher or looking for a pretty way to finish off your eco-friendly wrapping of a gift??  Why not pick up one of her pop tab Christmas ornaments?  They're only $4 and are a great way to show that you care about the earth and respect other people's love of the planet as well!  She makes them in a variety of colors and welcomes custom orders.