Crafts- Dragon Eyes

These glass eyes can be used to make your own jewellery or for customising trinket boxes, photo frames or anything else you want to add a unique element to.

Things you will need-

• Glass beads
• Acrylic paint (or nail polish)
• Thin paintbrush 

As with all glass projects first make sure that your glass beads are clean and grease free otherwise the paint won't stick to them properly. Start by painting on the pupil using black paint on the back of the glass bead. 

The pupil can be any size or shape you want. Circular pupils will make the eyes look more friendly whereas slit pupils will give a more intimidating appearance. 

Once the pupil is dry you can then paint in the iris. You can use different techniques to get different appearances. Remember that when painting these eyes the first layers you put down will remain visible from the front of the eye. 

Eye 1

This effect is achieved by using a single colour of paint. I used a metallic paint to gain a shimmery effect when the light hits the eye.

Eye 2

First dab on a thin layer of darker paint, make sure that this layer is thin enough to be transparent in places so that the second layer of paint can show through. Once the first paint layer is dry you can then coat the glass bead with a paler or contrasting colour. 

Eye 3

Apply a very thin transparent layer of of metallic paint to the whole eye. This will result in a subtle shimmer effect when it is hit by the light. Once that layer is dry spot on dots of brown paint and allow to dry. Then dab on some strokes of yellow paint and again allow to dry fully before coating the whole eye with a layer of red paint. 

Eye 4 

Start painting at the pupil with pale or bright colours and work outwards to darker colours around the rim of the iris. For this eye I used bright green, yellow and dark green. 

If at any point you make a mistake or don't like how your eye looks you can wipe the paint off while it's still wet of scratch it off with a pin or your fingernail when it is dry.