To Boldly Go

 Meet the latest crop of Starfleet officers!

 The dresses and tunics were made from a slightly modified T-Shirt pattern (LJ Trendy TShirt Pattern), or, if you have it, the LJ Tshirt variations pack.  The pants are from the free MiloMila pants.  I used old tshirts to make these.

Instructions to make the tunic pattern:

1. Lengthen tshirt sleeve to wrist length or use the long sleeves from the tshirt pack.  WIDEN THE SLEEVE EDGE BY 0.5".  Once you attach the ricrac, it restricts the stretch and you won't be able to get the sleeve over the hands.
2. Widen the bottom edge of the front bodice by 0.25" on either side.  Widen the bottom edge of the back bodice by 0.25" along the side only, not along the center back.
3. From the bottom of the armhole, draw a line to the new ends of the bottom edge.  Repeat for the back.  This gets you an A-line tunic.
4. For the neckband, cut a 1" x 8" strip of fabric.  Trim to fit as needed.

For the dress:  This is actually 2 pieces, an undershirt and an overdress.  The undershirt is a crop top.

1. For the undershirt, take the basic tshirt and move the hem up front and back by 2".
2.  For the overdress, cut a neckline 0.5" lower than the original.  Lengthen the front and back bodice pieces by 1.5".

 Closeup of the insignia and rank braids

Science officer and Engineer

Redshirts.  They're doomed and know it.

Kana's library and Elsa's sitting room (Free printable book patterns)

The new library 

Hello, humans of the internet, Kana here.  The human finally gave in to the sale from the mothership...I mean American Girl...and we finally have some new furniture!  The human spent all of Friday night rearranging the bookshelves in her study (three bookshelves of books that needed a new home after the parlor set displaced them) so I could have my study.  And my study is the best thing ever not in the least of which because it has perfect natural lighting in the mornings.  Also, unlike my bedroom, this is permanent!

 The curio cabinets in another room were overflowing, so I took some of my favorite things for my room.  The books had been hidden and stacked behind other books, but I can show them off to their advantage here.  I don't like the ship that came with the parlor set too much and much prefer the ship-in-a-bottle.  This is a call for the human to find us some more knick-knacks.  The shelves are far too empty.  For the record, Running Press Miniature books fit perfectly onto the parlor shelves.  And the window seat is going to be my personal property.

The new sitting room

 Meanwhile, Elsa (FKA Kirsten) claimed the fireplace for her new sitting room.  It's a much better setup than the old one that we shared.  We cluttered up the mantle already, and you can just barely see the faux oriental china behind Elsa.  That brown shelf had been our main cabinet in the old sitting room.  (Elsa would like the human to know that she needs a new and complete wardrobe now.  In blues, silvers, and a not-to-obvious ice theme.  Even for summer.)

 Here are some closeups of the fireplace and mantle.  We put all the little glass bottles and candles there.  Did I mention how awesome it is (everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of team...*ahem*) that the candle that comes with the parlor has a metal base?  Also, please notice the lovely blue stones on either side of the fire place.  They're bookends that need a new home, and we thought of the porcelain dogs from the Anne of Green Gables books (Anne of the Island, I think) at Patty's Place and there you are.  We didn't name the stones though.

A new book

So with a new sitting room and library, we obviously needed new books.  And thus we pestered the human relentlessly until she complied with our demands.

Historical (1830s-1860s) books of riddles

These are replicas of actual books for kids published in the mid 1800s, mostly published on the east coast.  If you're looking for some accessories for your historical girl, these would be best for Addy, Cecile, and Marie-Grace.  Addy would have seen these since Philadelphia was a major city and she would have access to some books through school.  Kirsten might have encountered these at general store in town, but her family wouldn't likely be able to afford extras like these.  Marie-Grace, having just moved from the northeast, would have definitely encountered these.

These books are between 2"x3" and 2.5"x3.75".  Some of them are a little large, but that's because they're scaled to be readable when printed with a normal printer.  You'll need a printer that prints two-sided, paper, and a stapler to make these.

Instructions
The Riddle Book
The Book of Riddles
The Little Riddler
Home Amusements

Let us know if you've made these and what you think of the instructions!

Happy Lunar New Year from Kana and co.

Kana here.  This past Thursday was the Lunar New Year, but we didn't have time to celebrate it until now.  It's traditional to wear red for good luck and to get new clothes for the new year.  I think the human spent this year sewing Valentine's Day outfits, but she promises to have proper New Year's outfits next year.  In any case, I've finally found the perfect occasion to wear the red-and-gold dress of doom...I mean, Felicity's gala gown...

We also have some printables to share with you so your dolls can share the Lunar New Year fun.
Red envelopes and money
Chinese New Years's coloring pages

While the human was busy making food for a dinner party with other humans, we took over Tyson's with a proper feast.  These were originally keychains, but they're the perfect size for us.  We have rice bowls with salmon and eel and caviar and all sorts of noodles.  We'd like some dumplings too, but the human hasn't found any for us yet.

The best part, of course, are the red envelopes that your relatives give you.
 It's called 'ya sui qian' or 'suppressing age money' since everyone turns
a year older on the new year.  

Sharing the loot evenly.  Thank you, human.

Kana:  How much did you get?  Can we afford to furnish the parlor yet?

Nellie:  JACKPOT!  I mean...yes, we can get a parlor set now.

And, just for fun, we made up some coloring pages to celebrate.

Playing in the snow

A Mice Truffle Assortment

Kana here.  We (mostly me and Shep and Elsa because Sam and Nellie are too polite to pester the human) finally got tired of watching the human eat her chocolate truffles that we demanded she make some for us too.

Instructions for doll sized chocolates here.

These are the human's favorite truffless

This is what the human made us.  Aren't they adorable?
Not edible though.

A box of chocolate mice.  In three flavors, even.

The human made more truffles for us, enough that we could open our very own chocolate store.

So we did.

A complete truffle collection

We even had a customer
Not shown: when said customer jumped onto
the counter and knocked over the display.