Author: Clare at CatsEatDogs

Why I write.

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I have been handed the baton to write about ‘Why I Write’ from the gorgeous Karen of Leaf and Petal blog.    This has turned into quite the blog hop and the links are being gathered at Maxabella Loves if you want to see more. What am I Working On? This blog is what I am working on right now, it is kind of new, even though I have had a blog for a few years over at CatsEatDogs.  So I am working on keeping up the momentum of writing regularly and keeping myself interested and bringing you you along with me. I am also working on painted words (like the picture above), I like the brush script look and am always painting on,  and sending cards and postcards.  Fonts are a wonderful thing to play with too, so I like to work cool fonts into cards to print and send.  Keeping snail mail alive! How Does My Writing Differ from Others in my Genre? I use lots and lots of photos and I like to …

Weekly Photos 25/52 and Yellow.

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Yellow yellow yelow, that is the colour I was looking for last week.  I found some on toys, at the Metro Link station, in a very bee full tree and water balloons (which look green when they are full!).  These photos are part of the Colour/Color project fearlessly headed up by the fabulous Xanthe and Andrea who both take the best photos you ever did see. A week of slip n sliding, water balloons, cool mushrooms and plenty of rain. 1.  Trying out the new netting on his army helmet. 2.  Teeny tree in our neighbourhood catching the afternoon sun. 3.  Slipping and sliding. 4.  The Edamame tee pee is growing well, we even have a few peas. 5.  Red mushroom in the damp after a massive storm. I hope your Monday is going well and have a fab week!  

Six Word Saturday

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Today was a Metro link day, we had a few things to do, so off we went, snapping a quickie of the track as we crossed to the platform. Do you have good public transport where you live?  It is not bad here but most people drive.  I don’t drive so I catch the Metro a fair amount of the time. Want to join in with Six Word Saturday?  Leave me a comment or join on Instagram using the hashtag sixwordsaturday.  My Insta name is @catseatdogsmakes if you want to come and find me. Happy Weekend.    

Through the Lens Thursday 25. Smooth.

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For this week’s Through the Lens Thursday the prompt was Smooth.  Water balloons are a top feature in our summer, so today we stocked up and got wet.  We have had the ‘Slip n Slide’ out on the back grass the past two days so we were a wet muddy mess by the time we were done with today.  The grass is now a swamp and needs a couple of days to recuperate and dry out. We managed to fill a little pile of balloons and not explode them, so I took a picture before we got wet and muddy! Next week is ‘Imperfect’ and week 26 which is halfway through the year!  I hope you are having a good year and that the second half of 2014 turns out most excellently for us all.  

Taking Photos of Jewelry

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I have just added some new jewels to my little CatsEatDogs store on Etsy and as I was messing about in my garden taking photos while the boys ran around with Nerf guns, I thought I would share a bit of the process on here, with you all. I like having my photography studio outside, which of course means I don’t have a studio (maybe one day, when I grow up) so I take photos in the natural light provided in the outside department of my house. We have had the giant cable reel for ages and it is always being used as part of a base or some other adventure.  I scrubbed the top and gave it a brush and I like to use it for photos. By the afternoon the garden has some soft shade so I can get photos without the glaring sun and it’s harsh light, shadows and reflections. Amongst the Swingball game, the sweet peas on their circle of found bricks, the tomato plants and the raised beds, there I …

Weekly photos 24/52 and Color/Colour Lovers Red

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Second week of the summer and all is well.  The weather is getting hot and humid which means that the water balloons will most likely be deployed this week. The lovely ladies of Hula Seventy and Xanthe Berkeley photography are hosting ‘Color/Colour Lovers’ the summer edition.  I joined in the winter project and it was amazing what you spot when you are looking for a specific colour!  Last week was red and here is what I found.  Of course you can’t have a red challenge and not visit the local fire house!  In fact all of these photos were taken locally. Be sure to pop over the Xanthe and Andrea’s blogs to see their amazing photos.   In other photo news, I snapped a few weekly photos too, which ironically all seem to be beige and green!  Apologies for the mushroom overload, but mama nature has been generous in the cool mushroom department this week. Next week there may be none (and I will be sad), so catch em while you can, that’s what I …

Six Word Saturday

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I can’t stop taking photos of mushrooms!  They have to be the ones which a fairy might be under and there are lots around at the moment (mushrooms, unfortunately I haven’t seen any fairies). I used the fabulous Rhonna Designs app to make this picture.  Do you have any favourite apps?  I love this one, lots of great images and fonts.  The original photo was taken using Camera+ on my iPhone, this is a great app to get close up pictures. If you have a Six Word Saturday or fancy snapping one, feel free to add it in the comments or pop it on Instagram using #sixwordsaturday. Happy Weekend!  

Through the Lens Thursday 24. Deep.

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For this week’s Through the Lens Thursday the first thing which sprang to mind was a swimming pool – the deep end of course. I wasn’t sure I wanted to stand at the edge of the YMCA pool taking photos of the deep end looking like a fool (I know, I shouldn’t care, but I do, it’s a problem).  So I wracked my brains and squeezed the creative juices, but I kept coming back to the pool idea. Well, I did it, I asked the aquatics director if it would be ok and she laughed at me (kindly) and said of course I could stand at the end of the pool like a crazy person and take photos.  So I did and here they are, I give you – Deep.   I love how the water distorts the lines and the pool tiles, water is very cool, especially deep water!  Thanks Mid County YMCA for letting me shoot the pool!  Thanks also to Greta of Gfunkified and Alison of Writing Wishing for coming up with …

The (grey) Elephant in the room

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The elephant no-one wishes to speak of isn’t just in my room, he follows me wherever I go, I may need to give him a name.  Feel free to name him in the comments… You see it’s my hair, my growing out, my going natural, my grey hair.  In fact it is not even my grey hair which encourages my friendly elephant, it is the combination of the left over red dyed hair which joins the grey on my head. I began growing out my dyed hair in a bid to ‘go natural’ in the head department back in April when I wrote about it here.   There are no pressing reasons I want to stop dying my hair apart from the inconvenience and the growing ineffectiveness of said dye.  I get grey peeking through within a week and I feel like I may as well embrace the grey rather than fight it with dubious chemicals every few weeks. There have not really been any wavering moments of regret yet because I think I am …

Weekly photos 23/52

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This week was the first of the summer holidays from school and it went pretty well, the weather was kind to us and we had a day trip out to go up the Gateway Arch in St Louis and lunched at one of the food trucks at the City Garden. Today is lovely and cool, but alas it won’t last, so we are enjoying it while we can. 1. Sketchbooks for sketching and scribbling. 2. Breakfast in the city before we visited the arch. 3.  The 250 years of St Louis cake outside the old Basilica. 4.  Cake at the Old Courthouse. 5.  The arch cake. 6.  The arch and some lovely clouds. 7.  Look there’s me at the base of the arch. 8.  We saw lots of cakes, this one is at the fountain on the other side of the Old Courthouse. 9.  Love this pink suit at the City Garden. 10. On the big screen at the City Garden. 11. Lunch from the Fire (food) truck. A good week was had and here’s …