Barbie Rubber Dress Series

Trxie and Zaltana model my latest creations

So thanks to Mieke Linden's fabulous balloon dresses I was inspired to do some experimenting of my own with gold and silver balloons I bought at Party City this weekend! They're nowhere near as finished and tailored looking as Mieke's but I do love the way they came out and I'm having lots of fun working with them. I'd say I used no more than three balloons each on Trixie and Zaltana's dresses shown above so they're not so layered and draped as they could be. I love how sexy they are and how easily they seem to pass for a different kind of material. I hope to do more this weekend. Obviously they're not re-wearable and are good only for the length of a photo shoot but that keeps things pretty interesting because I don't have otption really to do the same eaxact dress twice. Let's see where it goes.

Top Model Nikki is here!

 So the first thing I do when I first open up a new doll, besides check for underwear (LOL!) is see if they have a swivel waist and if their legs bend. Nikki has neither and her legs are perpetually posed like this. I was so annoyed by the lack of my favorite dolly perks that I almost thought of keeping her fierce stock and putting her back on the market. But then she struck a pose and I was like WHAM! I guess the limitations of her pose ability will make for a good photographic challenge. Even the insanely articulated and jointed Integrity Dolls have limitations and can't always pose the ways I would like them to.

I couldn't have two Nikkis in the house because "Surf's Up Nikki" was the first so I have named my Top Model Nikki "Zaltana" which is Native American and means "High Mountain." I think it suits her. She comes with one other outfit, a denim mini skirt, a silky orange camisole and a pair of strappy black heels. She has a black pleather "go see" portfolio with pictures of like four or five different outfit combinations inside. She is serious business!