From Balloon to Tissue Paper Leotard

Red Ruffles Fashionista Barbie #11 wears a no-sew leotard, tutu, and ballet slippers.

In a 2016 Facebook doll group project, I created a balloon leotard for one of my Barbies (Red Ruffles Fashionista #11) using a video that had been floating around on Facebook as a guide. The rest of the group participants and I also made a tutu and ballet slippers for our dolls. My doll is shown in the first image (above) taken after completing the costume in 2016.

A recent photo of the costumed ballerina standing between two other dolls that share the Goddess head sculpt led to a recent discovery about the costume.

Recall that the costume was created some 10 years ago. Since 2022, my doll has been displayed like this in a vinyl over-the-door shoe pocket. When I retrieved the doll a few weeks ago along with other Barbies that share the Goddess head sculpt, I discovered that the top of her balloon leotard had ruptured. This was probably caused by the doll being inside the vinyl pocket, behind a bedroom door where it did not receive adequate ventilation. 

Close-up of the ruptured leotard

I decided that instead of using a balloon to create a replacement leotard, I would make one from tissue paper as illustrated in the following photos:

I had to peel and, in some areas, scratch off the balloon leotard, which was stuck to the doll's body.

I Saran-wrapped the area that the new leotard would cover, as illustrated in this photo and in the one immediately above it. For protection, her head was wrapped in plastic, too.

I used a papier-mache-like technique to create the tissue-paper leotard with both water-diluted and undiluted Mod Podged strips of pink tissue paper. The Mod Podge was applied with my finger or a wedge makeup sponge (mostly using my index finger).

The doll's body was completely covered with Mod Podged tissue paper and allowed to dry before additional layers were added.

After applying each layer of Mod Podged tissue paper, I stood the doll in a mug until the tissue paper dried, as illustrated in this picture and in the one immediately above it.

In this picture, the leotard has dried, and the excess exposed edges of Saran Wrap were trimmed with a combination of an X-Acto knife and scissors.

The previously used ribbon trim was tied around the top of the leotard, and the tutu was tied around the doll's waist.

She posed gracefully for two more photos. 

The leotard is permanently attached and will require cutting off if I ever want to redress her, but I have no plans to do that.

Even though the tissue paper leotard is more durable than the balloon, I plan to display her in an open area.

The final AI-led photo below placed this lovely doll in an elegant ballet performance scene. 

Solo performance

Related Link

Making a No-Sew Doll Leotard, Tutu, and Slippers

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©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Ruby Red Toys Amani

Ruby Red Toys Amani, a limited edition 14-1/2-inch all-vinyl doll, has 9 points of articulation.

I almost missed getting Amani by Ruby Red Toys because I wasn't feeling her matchless clothes. The white blouse, multicolored sequined vest, and three-tiered, flared gray skirt appeared thrown together and too reminiscent of McKenzie Fenella Layla's ensemble, which prevented me from purchasing the Lars doll, and I have no regrets about that decision. For this reason, I passed on preordering Amani. 

After seeing online pictures of other collectors' dolls and basking in Amani's striking beauty, I ordered one of the last six from FAO Schwarz in June. By that time, the doll was almost sold out at Ruby Red Toys and did sell out a day or so after my FAO order. 

I took 65 photos of Amani and edited down to 22. The photos are a visual depiction of this gorgeous, ebony-complexioned 14-1/2-inch doll. Some of the photos were used in the following unboxing video.

The Unboxing Video 

As the video indicates, Amani has a certificate of authenticity.  Made in a limited edition of 300 dolls, my doll is number 267. 

The Photos 

Packaged items: Certificate of authenticity, care instructions, tissue-wrapped clothes, jewelry case, socks and sandals

Three pairs of earrings were inside the jewelry case.

Amani's unpackaged items: a white blouse, a sequined vest, two skirts, black sandals, and toeless socks

Amani arrived wearing white panties.

What a lovely face! She wears the silicone wig band and still has the plastic protectors in her ear piercings.

The short curly wig is very becoming.

Amani wears the white blouse and sequined vest with the multicolored silk skirt and sandals (without socks).

The gray three-tiered, flared skirt and toeless sandals are worn with the white blouse and sequined vest.

Despite the matchless clothes, Amani is breathtaking (and she can always be redressed)!
 

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All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode; find and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com

Elara #3

XianXian Toys' Elara has brown hair.

A third Elara entered the collection in June 2026. Like the other two, this Elara has a charcoal complexion, but her hair is brown.

Sold nude, Elara arrived in a XianXian Toys box, ready for dressing.

Elara wears a two-piece yellow wet-look fashion with white high-heeled shoes.

I had planned to dress her in a Mondrian color-block dress identical to the dress worn by the two Elaras that preceded her, but decided to break up that pattern with a yellow ensemble. 

All three Elaras posed for a full-view photograph and next...

...they posed for this lovely close-up.

These gorgeous dolls use the same head sculpt, but their hair color and style, and their lipstick color differs. 

Related Links

XianXian Toys Elara x2

Elara Cover Girls

__________

All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published. To contact me directly, use the About page link, which is also visible in Web View mode, find, and use the email link.

Visit and follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum for detailed installations of antique, vintage, modern, and one-of-a-kind black dolls. http://virtualblackdollmuseum.com