@natalie: Welcome to the community! In your comment you said that you don’t have a drill yet. I just wanted to say that you do not need a drill to put holes through beads. All you need are the drill bits with some sort of handle attached, which will allow you to grip them. See the link by my name for some info about making your own bit handles out of polymer clay. Polymer clay is soft enough that you don’t need a power tool to spin your bits. And… using hand held drill bits is MUCH safer.

Ok, the suggestions you left sound good. I had considered soaking them, to soften the toothpicks, and shove them out with a reamer or long doll needle(which I think could be the right size). Sadly, I do not own a drill(but may soon!), though I’ll bet that would work well from the get go.
The beads themselves are about 14-18mm each, relatively round, and I stuck the toothpick all the way through, prior to baking. Then, after baking, the clay swelled to reall hug that toothpick, thus, making it near impossible to pull back out. About 8 of them broke off at the ends, when I tried to pull them out with pliers. Silly ol me. :)
But I will try the soaking/jabbing method first, and report my developments!(saluting)
More soon,
Nat

Let us know if that works, if it doesn’t, leave another comment. Explain the type of bead, size, and where the toothpick/hole is on the bead. There are probably ways you could salvage/repair the bead if needed, and re-drill a hole. Good luck!

However, absent-mindedly, this last time, placed the toothpicks in too far during baking. This made them impossible to pull them all out successfully. Some broke off inside several, and now I have perfect clay beads with toothpick in the centers.

So, in a word,’help’! lol I need to know what tool or technique you might recommend to remove the pesky wood inside them.(bead-reamer? Long doll needle?

Thanks in advance for your time!
-Nat :)

One of the main things you’ll need is, of course, clay. You’ll want a good one: Premo Sculpey is Cindy’s favorite & an all-around good clay. You can get it at most any craft shop (like Michael’s, Hobby Lobby.) Make sure it says “Premo,” not “Sculpey III.” (Sculpey III has pretty colors, but it is fairly weak.)

You will probably want to subscribe to Cindy’s newsletter, so you can get 3 free videos & free color recipes. The link’s at the top of the page (Polymer Clay Newsletter.) Cindy also has a Fundamental’s/Basics course, which is an excellent way to learn how to work with polymer clay. There are 39 videos teaching you everything from conditioning clay to finishing your pieces, not to mention tons of nifty tips & tricks to help you avoid mistakes. Cindy’s videos are very good, and she’s such a great teacher!

Anyway, check out the article, and then leave a comment if you have any more questions. Someone is usually hangin’ round, and happy to help!

Or, you can use the search box, put in a word or two, like “tumbler”, and you’ll get a list of articles. Here is one that I found: Polymer Clay Tutorial | Polished Beads | Lortone Rock Tumbler

There are quite a few more on this topic. Also, don’t forget to check the comments, as there can be useful information there, as well.

I just want to say thanks for a wonderful month of videos. They are absolutely wonderful. These were my first as a new member, and so very worth it. For just $3, I got four amazing videos and a beautiful color palette of amazing recipes! For anyone who’s been thinking they might want to join but they’re not sure–do it! Believe me, it is such an good deal–an incredible value. You’ll be so happy you joined!