My thoughts on the cover and my overall impression about my first glimpse of the story description:
The Cover: I believe it was the title that first caught my attention. I really do like the hues, composition and the image that invokes a story of mystery and the period the story.
The Premise: I’m fascinated with the gilded age so The Girls with No Names fits the bill. While the premise of the story sounds interesting and atmosphereic, I’m wondering if this might be too depressing to read at the moment. Having said that, I’ve added this book to my to-read wish-list. -Stephanie
The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick
The Girls with No Names pulls readers into the gilded age of New York City in the 1910s, when suffragettes marched in the street, unions fought for better work conditions—and girls were confined to the House of Mercy for daring to break the rules.
Not far from Luella and Effie Tildon’s large family mansion in Inwood looms the House of Mercy, a work house for wayward girls. The sisters grow up under its shadow with the understanding that even as wealthy young women, their freedoms come with limits. But when the sisters accidentally discover a shocking secret about their father, Luella, the brazen older sister, becomes emboldened to do as she pleases.
But her rebellion comes with consequences, and one morning Luella is mysteriously gone. Effie suspects her father has made good on his threat to send Luella to the House of Mercy and hatches a plan to get herself committed to save her sister. But she made a miscalculation, and with no one to believe her story, Effie’s escape from the House of Mercy seems impossible—unless she can trust an enigmatic girl named Mable. As their fates entwine, Mable and Effie must rely on each other and their tenuous friendship to survive.
The Home for Unwanted Girls meets The Dollhouse in this atmospheric, heartwarming story that explores not only the historical House of Mercy, but the lives—and secrets—of the girls who stayed there.
Cover Crush is a weekly series that originated by Erin at Historical Fiction Reader
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Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy


Adding texture to your art projects is a lot easier than people may think and is so much fun to play with. There really is no wrong way of creating texture. You just have to experiment with what works. That is part of the fun. Today I am showing you three pages I created using several scraps from my mixed-media supply stash.
Then I started with my layers and paste for texture. Below is a complete list of the materials I used. It looks like a lot-yeah it is-but it is all from what I have on hand.
These pages are my Paris Pages and I am thrilled with how they turned out! No, I have never been to Paris but it is on my bucket list and I love reading stories that take place in that city. Please excuse my blurry images. My camera has been giving me fits! I hope you enjoyed this post and if you have any questions about creating with textures, please feel free to ask me. -Stephanie