Garden | Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics

Recycled Glass Bottle Garden Border

May 13, 2012 Charlotte No comments

If you look closely at the border along the lawn in this picture, you should see lots of shiny circular objects all lined up in a row…

The circles are in fact empty wine bottles that have been pushed into the ground to create a recycled decorative and quirky garden border.

This is one of my Dad’s latest ideas and I took these photos in his garden last week when all we had was rain, rain and more rain.

The bottles look great in the sunshine with the light reflecting off the glass. Although it took a while for the bottles to build up, this is a fun and easy project to brighten up your garden this summer!

Posted in: garden, outdoors, Projects

New Garden Section

April 19, 2012 Charlotte No comments

All we seem to be getting weather-wise lately is rain, rain and more rain. But at least the garden will be kept happy. I’ve left it a little late this year but I can’t wait to start tending to my flower pots and plants.

Brand NEW to my website this week ~ a Garden Section where you will find all ceramic pieces relating to the garden in one place.

From wall planters to pots, wind chimes to plant markers… If you are looking for a unique gift for a garden lover, or even large sculptural vessel statement pieces, you are in the right place!

Happy browsing

Posted in: ceramic decorations, ceramic plant pot, ceramic pot, ceramic vases, ceramic wind chimes, garden, garden sculpture, handmade homewares, My Work Tags: ceramic garden pieces, ceramic planters

Hazel Twig Fence

August 11, 2011 Charlotte 2 Comments

I had to share my new hazel twig fence with you! I love it! It was so much fun, especially collecting the branches from the woods. My dad had made a fence in his garden and as soon as I saw it I had to make one too. The fences aren’t very practical, just ornamental and decorative, they add a really nice rustic look to your garden.

First we had to locate some hazelnut trees. In woodland areas you would probably be surprised at how many there are scattered all over. They are easy to spot – tall thin vertical branches with the odd leaves growing here and there. Make sure you take a little saw or some secateurs to cut the branches down – they are very strong!

If you can find any thicker branches these are good to use for the posts.
Pull off the leaves and cut off any jagged bits so that you are left with a pile of straight, clean wooden sticks. Begin by cutting the posts to size, taking into consideration the height you want your fence to be, and also plenty extra for the posts to be positioned in the ground. My fence was about 30cm high and I left about 15cm for the posts to go in the ground, so each post was 45cm tall.

Hammer the posts into the ground first. Depending on how hard or soft the ground is, they may be able to push in. The further down in the ground the posts are, the stronger the fence will be. The rest is easy and takes no time at all! Weave the hazel branches in and out of the posts. They are so strong that they stay in place by themselves. Once you’ve reached the top of the posts and are happy with the amount of branches, cut off any excess at the ends and use cable ties to tighten any areas that are a bit loose. I only had white cable ties but you can hardly notice them as they have been coloured in with black pen!

If you want to continue the fence at an angle, start again with more posts. Effective isn’t it?

Below are some other creative ideas I found using twigs and sticks. I will no doubt be trying all of these too!

1. Stick Centre Pieces

2. Garden Driftwood Trellis

3. Twig Frame

4. Twig Candle Decoration

And look at this!! Hazel branch walls made in the same way. Amazing!

Posted in: garden, hazel branches, hazel fence, Projects

The Garden in bloom

May 19, 2011 Charlotte 1 Comment

The sun is shining in the bright blue sky and I’m feeling bright and cheery today! The garden is too, showing off some of it’s vibrant colours and the plants growing from bulbs & seeds are getting taller and taller. You might remember the dahlia seeds that we planted in a small pot on the kitchen window sill in March. We moved them outside into a bigger pot a few weeks ago, look at them now!! (You can see what they looked like in March here)

These carnations smell gorgeous!

This photo below was taken only a few weeks ago of some gladioli bulbs that were planted at the beginning of April. They seemed to take their time peering up through the soil one by one…

and now with all the sunshine they have sprouted up so fast! I can’t wait to see them in flower.

We’ve also got various lilies growing in pots, which started like this…

and have grown into this…

My hanging basket of pansies is doing well, but the lining of the basket is looking a bit worse for wear! I think the birds like to unravel parts of it to use in making their nests.

I love the different shades of colour on the leaves of this Acer tree…

Hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour around the garden! Have a great weekend!

Posted in: flowers, garden, growing bulbs, growing seeds

In the garden…

April 14, 2011 Charlotte No comments

Do you like my new flower pot?

This photo was taken last weekend when we had just planted the flowers – they are much more in bloom now and they look stunning. I wanted to add a bit more colour to the garden so this is what we came back with from the garden centre.

You can just about see one of the lily bulbs sprouting up in the smaller pot next to it. I can’t wait for these lilies to flower, they are going to be bright orange!

The hanging basket of sweet pea seeds that we planted a few weeks ago are doing well. Now that they’ve started growing they don’t seem to stop. The dahlia’s that we have had from seeds on the kitchen window sill eventually got too big for the pot, so we planted them in another big pot out in the garden now that the weather is getting warmer. It will be exciting to see what colours they are going to be.

Molly is loving playing outside in the garden at the new house. She has been sunbathing a lot too!

Posted in: garden

Outdoor Inspirations

July 23, 2010 Charlotte 7 Comments

After collecting wood, experimenting with new hanging decorations, deciding to make my own bunting, and loving being outdoors this week, I thought I’d share some current images that are inspiring me;

1. Wooden Ship by Maya Made

2. Felt Bird House by What No Mints

3. Spot Design Solar Lantern by Glow Box

4. Fourth of July Garland by Maggie Makes

Posted in: garden, Inspiration, outdoors

My studio has been featured!

December 21, 2009 Charlotte 4 Comments

I wrote this article for the Artists in Business blog, as they have a “In The Studio” section and feature a few artists every month. I had a message today saying I’d been featured for December, and here it is:

Ceramic Artist Charlotte Hupfield

“My passion for ceramics started from an early age, and it was at university where my skills, techniques, understanding and creativity developed. After graduating in 2008 I have continued to develop my ceramics over the past 18 months.

I began by working from home which wasn’t ideal as it got rather messy and storage space was limited. When everything took off 6 months ago I decided it was time to have my own creative space to produce work.

My workshop in the garden has been a life-saver and I don’t know what I would do without it now. It’s nice to sit out there at my leisure with a cup of tea. It’s also great to have so much natural light coming in through the windows. I have the occasional friends that sometimes come to say hello, such as the robin who watches me through the window, and the squirrel who jumps about on the roof! There is a big Christmas tree right outside the window, so I’m looking forward to the sight of it decorated nearer to Christmas.

I enjoy cleaning, tidying and organising my workshop every now and then but it soon gets untidy again! I made my own ceramic plaque which hangs on the outside next to the door. My plaques have been quite popular this year and I’ve made several for other peoples’ craft cabins and studios.

It gets a bit stuffy in the summer but it’s nice to have the door open with fresh air coming in. On the other hand, I’m just starting to experience the winter weather! I’m lucky to have a hallogen heater which heats up the small space and soon makes it feel warm and cosy.

My current work ranges from handmade items inspired by the natural world such as vases, bowls, sculptural vessels, coasters, plaques, clocks, letter racks, candle shaders, as well as smaller items including magnets, keyrings and brooches. I’m looking forward to lots of future design and creativity in my workshop.”

Posted in: artists in business, featured workshop, garden, studio, Workshop, workspace

My New Workshop!

June 15, 2009 Charlotte 4 Comments

I’m so excited to have my new ‘workshop’ built! I haven’t started to move everything in yet as I’m waiting to get a high wooden work bench to put inside, and I would like to insulate the walls and roof from inside so its not as cold in winter. I also plan to put some mini curtains or a roller blind up, it will be lovely and cosy!

Thanks to my Dad and Dave for putting it up at the weekend. I had a great job of being the spectator, letting them know how it looked at what had gone wrong whilst sitting in the sun!!