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"The classic wasp nest is but in a confined space it will more than
likely be
attached to its surroundings."

Against the red brickwork near where they were entering the house
there is a fairly large area the same colour as the little nest I
found. I need to crawl to get to it but could that be the nest? From
the outside it just looks like a mess which is why I aint sure if it
is or not.

It sounds as though it could well be. What looks like a mess to you is their
way of making the connections strong enough to hold a surprising amount of
weight in a very fragile structure.

"They ask lots of questions, far more searching in some ways than
those adults ask"

"What's it made of daddy?"
"I think the wasps chew up bits of wood and sti..."
"And stones?"
"No, I don't think they chew up sto..."
"Well why is it grey then?"
"er......" sound of door slamming shut and engine revving

Suggest that they chew up tiny bits of wood and see what colour it turns out
when it's dry. It will probably be grey but not the beautiful silver grey
the wasps can make. And your children will never be able to get the 'paper'
as thin as the wasps can.

And observe the outside layer very carefully, if it was built by one type of
wasp each small piece of 'paper' will be beautifully striped according to
the source of the timber. I've seen green stripes, presumably made from
painted wood.

Mary