Alien Attack!

Picture from http://www.arkinspace.com

I've been attacked by these vicious-looking creatures!

OK, so may be they are not aliens, but just fellow Earth inhabitants. Apparently, they are called Saddleback Moth Caterpillars.

And may be they were just peacefully munching on the leaves of my lilies, minding their own business. However, after our brief encounter I felt sharp burning pain in my shoulder, which did not go away for hours, despite all my efforts. A full week later I still have itching red marks on my shoulder...

Picture from http://bugguide.net

I had only two of these guys on my plants. They are pretty small – just about half an inch long, but the damage they can cause is astonishing. As I've learned after a quick Internet search, some people experienced nausea after touching these caterpillars, and some even ended up in a hospital. So I guess, I can consider myself lucky – it could have been worse...

Even through the burning pain, I was fascinated by these things. They are frieky, but amazing at the same time, don't you think?

Being an artist, I perhaps should get inspired by this episode and make a new line of inspirational jewelry with an encouragement slogan. “Stand for Yourself!”, for example (and these creatures can definitely stand for themselves, I am telling you)...

Nah, I guess I would stay focused on the projects I am working on right now. They are too exciting to put aside!

Anybody wants this idea? Feel free to use it. Unfortunately, I cannot arrange the whole authentic experience for you, since my husband promptly destroyed my aliens in a swift retaliation attack. You would have to get your own somewhere in the South (apparently, they are more common there)...

Polymer Clay Tutorial Hollow Crescent Beads

These beads should probably be called "lost and found'. 

A while ago I was playing with different textures and inadvertently made a crescent bead.  I thought: "Oh, cool bead!  I shall figure out what do with it and then write a tutorial."  Then I completely forgot about it, and only recently came across it in my studio.  This time suddenly everything clicked in place and I immediately envisioned a project with this type of beads and metal filigree. 

So, here is my new tutorial, and it is available in my etsy shop.

Let me know what you think!