Last summer I discovered a mouse had been squatting in my Tomy Smaller Homes dollhouse. I didn’t catch it in action (thankfully!), but my first clue was the chewed-up rug.

Then I noticed this suspicious stain. Mouse pee? It seems too symmetrical for that, but this is right against a seam where two carpet pieces meet, so that could explain the straight edge. (Also, ew!)

Also two loose wallpaper corners in the kitchen had been nibbled at. I tore off the damaged wallpaper intending to replace it.

After letting it sit in disrepair for almost a year, last week I decided to fix the damaged carpet and wallpaper. Not surprisingly, this turned into something bigger. It started with the living room carpet. I was able to get up this much of it before I decided I needed to take off the walls to really get it off.

This is two layers of paper backing — the suede scrapbook paper I used when I redid the house six years ago, and the remnants of the original carpet underneath that I hadn’t completely removed.

Continue reading