Break In

Mr. Thumbson busted into the Maus House Stalaag 13 style. He tunneled in! A benefit of building a set out of cardboard and newspaper balls under papier mache is that I can cut into it from underneath. I gutted the underside like a pinata in order to arrange a strand of miniature lights inside. These are a bit faint, nice for lantern glow but I may need a bit stronger light to show up on camera.

Today I finished the wooden door, don't laugh but the key hole works and the knob turns. The Maus has a good stack of fire wood sheltered from the weather. The corbels were finished and installed. I started to build the base for the balcony and attached (with great difficulty) the storm shutters. I need them to open and close but there's no way to drill into the stones where the hinges need to attach. Right now it on with glued fabric that I plan to cover with another square of copper. I pickled the exterior with special white stain because it was bothering me that a lot of the detail was blending into the tree too much. Might knock the white down a bit more with ink.