I have been searching every folder on every computer in this house to find photos of my cats for this book. I still can't find some of the ones I was looking for but then I have found ones I had forgotten about which I may use instead of other ones.
I also decided I do want the photos to be edited so that they appear to be illustrations. I tried editing them using lots of features in Adobe Photoshop Elements. I found 'watercolour' was the best for my desired effect. But then I remembered about the editing features on Photobucket - with one called 'Cartoonize'. With luck, I remembered my password from years ago and uploaded a photo to try it out on. The default finish was a bit too strange for me but it is possible to change that so that the colours were a bit more normal. Now, it is definitely the look I wanted and so I am uploading loads of photos of my cats to edit!
So, it is all going well but I need to try to get it finished soon to allow enough time for printing and postage of the books. I just know this is going to be a great Christmas present though!
One of the photos I have edited of my cat Rosie (now passed away) sleeping in the sunshine:
