*CLOSED* GIVEAWAY…tiny timber house in Irish village

Dun Laoghaire artist Iris O’Connor has been kind enough to offer up one of her handmade wood houses for the very first giveaway on my new blog. *THANKS IRIS!* Check out the whimsical house that one of you lucky peeps will win…(just leave a comment on this post with your favorite item from her shop  to be entered! I’ll randomly pick the winning comment on March 25th by what number your comment is) . It’s 5″ high and 2″ wide and cute as can be…

A bit about Iris in her own words and photos…

I was born in Germany but came to Ireland in 1987. After living in Dublin inner city for about a year I decided it was just too crowded for my liking so I hopped onto the bus and went out to Dun Laoghaire, a beautiful seaside town just a few miles outside Dublin. It was a gorgeous summers day and Dun Laoghaire looked like it could be a little harbour town in southern Italy. Love at first sight and 2 weeks later I moved in J I am married to Mr. O’Connor now and we –including Mouse the Cat– live about 3 minutes away from the harbour and we love it here!

It’s only natural that I go for daily walks and more often than not I will collect sea glass and seashells which then end up in my shop. I work part-time in a second hand bookshop, which is absolutely wonderful as I am an avid reader and I can borrow books from the shop. I look at the bookshop as my own personal library 🙂

*When I asked her how long she’s been artsy fartsy for*…

Forever I think, it runs in the family. My granny –at the age of 91– is still painting, (mostly oils and acrylics), my uncle is a successful Graphic Designer with his own company and then there’s me. On Etsy. My love affair with pebbles began at about age 10. It started at a riverbed in Austria where I picked up a big granite stone, beautifully shaped, with specks of colours which was lovingly varnished to give it that ‘wet’ look. I still do a lot of work with pebbles as you can see in my flickr but unfortunately the pieces are too heavy to sell on Etsy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irisdesign/2760453772/in/set-72157620257859535/

I have always loved painting houses and these particular ones have evolved from houses painted on MDF to being Real Estate in a fictional Irish village.
Even how the story of Ballinasnoot came about is somehow typical irish: in my local, Dunphy’s J I wanted some input from my friends and over a few pints of Guinness one night we made great progress into the write-up of it all. It was great fun and I still add a few bits or change something with every new house I list.

…Besides these scrumptious little houses and her mixed media collages, Iris also produces some stunning photography which you can see on her flickr , we hope to see some more in her shop soon 😉

 LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR FAVORITE ITEM FROM HER SHOP TO BE ENTERED IN THE GIVEAWAY. WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN RANDOMLY MARCH 25TH. AND MAKE SURE I HAVE YOUR EMAIL OR A WAY TO CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN.