Kari’s Creative Corner – Hanwi

Hi there! It’s been a while since I took over Bay’s blog, so here I am with a new custom doll project to show you!! Be prepared for an out of this world doll…no, literally, she’s space themed…it’s funny, right? No? Okay, no more puns….I think.

It’s long been a part of our dream to have custom dolls in our collection, something to do with them being unique and special, a way for us to have a doll nobody else does. I used to look at others’ one of a kind dolls with envy, wishing I had the skills to create them myself…well, with help from Kari and sometimes Aang, I do have those skills now, years later.

Hanwi started her life as one of the Shadow High line that just released a few weeks before I was supposed to have written this post, Shanelle Onyx to be exact. We had a vision from the moment we saw her through the plastic of her package.

Shadow High Shanelle Onyx, jet black skin and hair, pale blue eyes and black to grey ombre chiffon dress paired with black heels featuring a gem on the toe. — There’s Shanelle pre-transformation, isn’t she cute?

The first thing we had to do was Hanwi’s skin, we wanted her to have an outer space theme, like the night sky with stars and things. First thing we needed was to sponge on some colored paint in different places to look like galaxies and nebula clouds, then a good splattering of white paint (watered down) to look like the stars.

Hanwi with her paint finished, colored areas and white spatter drops that look like the stars in a night sky.

The next step in Hanwi’s transformation was her hair. The black hair with a skunk stripe was fitting, so we decided to leave that as it was and simply add to it with colors that match the ones we used in her paint…time to raid the box of doll hair!

Hanwi with pink, seafoam, purple and blue highlights that stand out against her black hair!

After her hair, we realized Hanwi needed clothes – and that’s my area of expertise as a fashion designer! I opted to keep with the space theme and take it ethereal, but I wanted to let her paint job shine and not cover it up too much. So I chose this white chiffon with silver stars as the main fabric. But my first attempt at the skirt was a failure – too big! I chose to use it as a cape instead, then asked my friend Tiffany for some help with Hanwi’s jewelry and the chains on her top.

And with that, Miss Hanwi Selene is complete. Our Moon Goddess in all her glory also has two sisters. She has her twin opposite and their rebellious younger sister, Sidra and Alisa respectively, who had a very similar creation process with modified colors and outfits.