Old Town Winchester West Virginia

This is part three of a travel series to West Virginia.  To start at the beginning, go HERE!

After hiking the Maryland Heights Trail at Harpers Ferry we were exhausted, so spending 45 minutes in the car on the way to the town of Winchester where we would spend the night, felt wonderful.

After the refreshing car drive, we checked into our hotel then headed for Old Town Winchester where we would grab some dinner.

Old Town Winchester is a 250 year old marketplace, and my favorite part is it's pedestrian only!  I love it when I don't have to deal with traffic on a town's Main Street, plus I get great photos of the old buildings. 

Old Town Winchester is located within the heart of a 45-block National Register Historic District and is bursting with outdoor cafes, fun & specialty retail shops, historic attractions and family-oriented activities throughout the year.

The Loudoun Street Pedestrian Mall has earned a listing on the National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary.

This post will be heavy-laden with photos of these old buildings because I just loved them all.  Everywhere I looked was a feast for the eyes.

We chose to eat at Roma's Old Town Wood-Fired Pizzeria and it was delicious!  Somehow I forget to take a photo of the pizza;  that almost never happens.  We must have been hungry. 😋

This is the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum which sadly we didn't get to visit because it was closed.  The museum is housed in the historic Fredric County Courthouse.  It was built in 1840 and used as a hospital, prison, and barracks during the Civil War.  

I just loved the brick roads!

The Winchester Masonic Lodge 😟

The Taylor Hotel has a rich history of travelers and Civil War stories to tell.  

The varied styles of buildings in Old Town Winchester was so interesting,  This building looks more like an old house than a store front.

And look at that little grill building sandwiched between two tall buildings.

Quite the Post Office isn't it?

This beauty was a woman's clothing shop (men's clothes were a separate business in the basement).  I actually went inside this one, mostly because I wanted to see the interior of the building and it did not disappoint.  I just love shopping in old historic buildings;  although I must admit I tend to be more interested in the buildings than the items for sale in the buildings 😊

And would you believe this is their public library?  In all my life I have never seen a more extravagant public library, and it was built in 1913 to be the citie's library.  It wasn't like it was built for another purpose and then repurposed into a library.  I find it so fascinating that they would built such an amazing building for a library.

Thank goodness it was open and we could check it out.  There was a book in the foyer that explained all about the libraries origins.  Just look at that photo with the horse and carriage, wouldn't you just love to step back into that time period?

The dome was just gorgeous.  The design of the library was to resemble an open book with the dome representing the spine and the wings representing the covers.  I don't really see it, but hey, it's beautiful nevertheless.

Just look at these curved staircases!  Be still my heart!

Of course we had to climb those stairs!

The view from the second balcony.

They even had a spiral staircase!

After our library tour, we headed back to in the direction of our parked car as it was getting late.  This place looked interesting, but they were closing up as we were walking by.

I continued to "ooh" and "ahh" over the architecture;  it reminded me a lot of Savannah Georgia.

As I walked these historic streets it made me wonder about all the people who lived here and life way back then.

There was such a variety of buildings from brick, to stone, to wood...all unique and different.  Usually when you visit a historic town all the buildings seem similar, but not here.

I wish Old Town Winchester wasn't so far away.  I'd love to come back someday when the pedestrian mall was hustling and bustling.  But I doubt I'll ever get here again as there is so much else to see in the world and I don't have a lot of time left at 63 years old.

Isn't this a sweet building?  And look at the tiny little shop next to it...so cute!

A beautiful church basking in the setting sun.

They even have private homes on the pedestrian mall.  Isn't this one grand?

I think I love the cute little cottages as much as the big ornate buildings.

 I hope you enjoyed my little tour of Old Town Winchester West Virginia.  Next week I'll be back with a visit to Black Water State Park.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts on West Virginia, check these out:

Harpers Ferry West Virginia

Hiking the Maryland Heights Trail at Harpers Ferry

How to Decoupage A Birdhouse

I am a big fan of birdhouses.  I think they add so much interest to a garden and the birds seem to really appreciate them.  It's never a long wait to see if a bird moves in shortly after I put out a new birdhouse.  I am always looking for cute birdhouses on clearance or I make my own.  The last time I showed you a handmade birdhouse it was in THIS POST.  My son made the birdhouse in high school.  The one I am showing you today is from Hobby Lobby.

Here is the completed birdhouse.  I know, it's not as nice as my last birdhouse, but it's my first attempt at decoupage so I can't complain.  I'm sure the birds won't mind it either 😁.

Usually I forget to take a "before" picture.  This time I remembered, but only after I started painting 😆.  I started by priming the birdhouse.  This is a crucial step that a lot of people skip, but it's important as it provides a nice white base for the color to adhere to and keeps the color from soaking into the wood. 

I like my birdhouses to be very colorful so I chose bright bold colors and started painting away.  This, later turned out to be a mistake as I was to find out that with decoupage you want a light colored base.  Oh well, live and learn.

I found these adorable Easter napkins at TJ Maxx.  Aren't they pretty?

I read that napkins are the hardest to decoupage because they wrinkle, and there are tips to get around the wrinkles, but I actually love the wrinkles;  it gives it an aged, vintage effect.  Remember when crackle paint was all the rage a few years ago?  Well decoupage napkins look like crackle paint and I love it!

Decoupage is so simple;  you just apply Mod Podge to your object then you lay your napkin or paper on top.  Gently smooth away the wrinkles (misting with a water bottle helps) and tear or cut away the excess.  Finish with a layer of Mod Podge on top once the napkin is dry.

Napkins usually come in two or three plies, so separate the napkin till you have just the part with the design on it.

And here is my completed decoupaged birdhouse.  It turned out nice, but if I had to do it all over again, I would have painted the house part cream or white.

You can decoupage the entire napkin as I did on the house,  or you can cut out a small section and just decoupage that (as I did near the hole of the birdhouse).

I even did the back of the birdhouse, even though it won't even show once it is hung on a pole.

I had a little wooden bird in your stash, so I glued him on the perch.

I had fun doing my very first decoupage birdhouse and can't wait to try again!  Hopefully I will do better next time.  

I also tried decoupaging a few card fronts, since I am a paper crafter.  It is the same technique as I used in the bird house.  I applied Mod Podge to a piece of card stock, laid down the napkin, then Mod Podged over it once it was dry.  I haven't made them card fronts into cards yet, but I will be sure to show them to you when they are completed.

I also had a beautiful hydrangea napkin in my stash that I saved from an event I went to.  Yes, I'm that person 😄.  I love beautiful napkins, so if I see one I love, I save it for some future craft project.

I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at decoupaging a birdhouse.  What about you?  Have you decoupaged anything?  I'd love to hear from you.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE.

Fore more birdhouse posts, check this out:

I Painted A Birdhouse!