The Velvet Vest & A Treasure Chest

Hello Readers. Did you like the rhyming title to this blog post? I have to admit I am goofy enough to like that it rhymed. Well, ages ago, I found this purple top at a swap and took it just because I liked the velvet. I thought I could make something from the fabric because it was so pretty. The sparkly jewels in the buttons caught my eye too. They seemed a little over the top. This whole top made me think of Dynasty. Do y'all remember Dynasty? Alexis and Krystle were always fighting in super posh outfits. 

 In spite of my fond memories of 80's trash TV, I wanted to tone down the formal look of this top. Could I simplify it? I could try. And I had a plan for those buttons too.

This top had a zipper in the back so I would be able to use that to get the top on and off. I could do anything I wanted to the front because I would use the back to actually pull it over my head.

I started by cutting away at the puffy sleeves and the wrap piece around the shoulders. When I removed the buttons in the front I realized it was turning into a vest. It took some time but I turned all those edges in and sewed them into the vest so it did not look as ragged as it does in this picture.

The "vest" had an off-the-shoulder shape at the neckline so I had to close the front to keep it on. I did not have any purple buttons and no other colors seemed to work. I tried white, black, brown, gray, clear... Nothing seemed quite right. I settled for these purple flowers.

The front can be sewn closed because of that back zipper. I attached the purple flowers and closed the front of the vest all at the same time.

I really like that this is still a dressy top but it doesn't feel as melodramatic as it did before. Less drama sounds really good right now, doesn't it?

Now what about those jewel covered buttons? Well, I decided to use them as decoration for child's treasure chest.

I painted the wooden chest black and used a hot glue gun to attach the jewels to the top. It goes with a lesson in my VIPKid classes. (I teach English as a second language classes online.) In the lesson the child "earns" gold coins by answering questions. I thought this would be a good visual aid. 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Chickie's Year End Review-I never got dressed up enough to wear this velvet top again but I used that treasure chest a lot until the online company I was working with shut down.