There are many variations on this project and I'm leaving out a lot of details, but if you want to know more I suggest going to the "Glass Attic" or "Polymer Clay Central" for some excellent lessons.
Well, actually, its more like "how I, personally make a polymer bead." In order to make the "face", fairy or dragon eye beads, I have to start with a base. Here is one way to do this.
A bead with a caned design.
1. I made the one pictured to the right in two steps. First I made the cane design of the back, then I made the base for the drawing.
The canes pictured to the left are only a few of the many I've made over the years, not all of them worth saving. There are numerous excellent tutorials on how to make canes and I've listed a couple of good links below. The back of the bead, however, can be made with any design at all.
Once I've got something I like, I shape it into a dome or cabochon shape. A trick I've learned is to get the clay as smooth as possible before its cured. (This is much easier than sanding until you wear off your fingerprints after its cured.) I cure this part before continuing on.
2. To the cured back I add the base for the drawing. I love to use a combination of pearl and translucent. The resulting surface does wonderful things with the light. I get this surface as smooth as possible and cure the whole bead.
3. I prefer to make the bead hole after it's cured. Its a bit stressful this way (I've slipped a couple of times) but it seems I get a cleaner hole. I use a very small drill bit. Actually, I've had to purchase many as I've been known to let the drill fall on the bit.
