Advent Calendar: Day 2

By Circe -

I rarely if ever live in a house with roommates who all celebrate Christmas, even the secularized tinsel-ful version I observe, so I confine my decorating to the rat cage. 

Ratmas planning starts around Ratsgiving, partly because everyone else is doing holiday things and I need to keep myself occupied, but mostly because the elaborate cage sets involve building a lot of miniatures that are washable, disposable, edible, or some combination of the three. Everything that goes into their cage has to be safe to chew on, because they will, and I try to make most of their decorations out of food, because it gives them joy. Things that aren't food are paper, cardboard, or fabric, all of which they will eventually destroy, pee on, and then shred for their nest.

Unsurprisingly, I find kit-bashing to be a useful way to work. Miniatures artists are accustomed to rummaging through their parts bin and finding something that "looks like" what they need for their project. Maybe with some paint on it. This particular guy, Studson Studios, manages to combine decent instructions with hilarious narration. Howl's Moving Castle is one of his more elaborate projects, but they're all worth watching through, if that's your cup of tea.


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