What do you see when you look at this photo? An old, tired rusty sprinkling can that has seen better days? A sprinkling can that should be tossed in the trash? An antique? Character?

This old sprinkling can has moved with me many times to different locations — to different states and from house to house. I keep thinking that one of these days, I am going to plant some flowers in it and it would make a pretty neat-looking planter inside my house. Or at least that is my excuse for not throwing it out. 

The real reason I’ve kept it all these years is that when I look at that sprinkling can, I see a sprinkling can with a story behind it. Let me explain. This isn’t just any old sprinkling can. It was my grandfather’s, so when I look at it, my first thought is of him.

My grandfather was a kind person that I looked up to and looked forward to seeing every day. He took great pride in owning his own home and caring for his home and the people he loved. He was very meticulous about his lawn. The grass was always mowed to a perfect height; the sidewalks were edged -- no grass would dare grow past its boundary lines into the sidewalks and certainly no grass would grow between the sidewalk cracks.

He would fill up this sprinkling can from the outside faucet or sometimes use the garden hose to fill it up with water. He would water the beautiful flowers lining the patio — impatients or geraniums in the planters that set on the cement floor of the large patio and beautiful hanging baskets of impatients or begonia flowers surrounding the patio where we would sit outside during the summer months on the metal swings and listen to my grandparents talk about their day or about their family.

It may sound silly, having that entire story from just one old sprinkling can. But I think we all have memories that can be triggered from just looking at a small item from the past. Maybe it is an old piece of jewelry, your grandmother’s rolling pin or a serving dish that came out every holiday. You aren’t keeping that item because of the physical item. You are most likely keeping it because it reminds you of your loved one and fond memories.

I decided I wanted to make this antique sprinkling can a centerpiece for a paper sculpture, filing it with a bouquet of beautiful flowers, similar to the idea I have in mind for using it as a planter for house plants. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at making a paper sculpture.

First,  I bought a potted red flower that just happened to be planted in a red sprinkling can, which I thought was a funny coincidence. I also picked up some gardening gloves and a couple of gardening tools. I arranged the items in a variety of different set-ups and  took lots of reference photos with Pappy’s old green sprinkling can setting behind the other props. I shot the photos from different directions and from different angles.

Next, I was ready to get to work on this 3D paper sculpture. OK, not so fast! I needed more flowers! Yes, it is true, I never turn down an excuse to buy more flowers. But really, I needed to add more color to this sprinkling can picture. So, off to the store I went once again, searching for a variety of flowers to fill up my sprinkling can. Once I got them home, I took more reference photos.

As is usually the case with art, as you start working on your design, it evolves during the process, and that was the case here. I originally thought I would show the sprinkling can with one potted plant inside it, but after searching for different types of flowers — they are so beautiful and loved the colors — I decided to change it from a single potted plant to a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers filling up the sprinkling can.

I did a quick little watercolor sketch of the bouquet of flowers inside the sprinkling can and now the real fun begins! I get to start the paper sculpture part.

My 3D paper sculptures begin as white paper that is painted in watercolor and gouache. I started working on different elements that would be included in the final design, like the sprinkling can, gloves and spade. In the photos below, the pieces are setting on the wood base that the items will eventually be attached to. There is a glass dome that goes overtop of the sculpture to protect it.

Here are some in progress photos to give you an idea of what the little objects looked like in the beginning before they got painted. As you can see, I already painted a light shade of green onto the sprinkling can. The sprinkling can was difficult to construct out of just paper, especially the spout. On the one photo, I included an old penny sitting on the left side of the wood base to give you an idea of the scale of the piece.

Each little flower petal was cut out and painted. Even the grass was cut by hand. In the final piece, I wasn’t able to fit the little trowel onto the wood base and cover the final design with the glass dome. Instead, I drew up a couple of seed packets and added them into the final sculpture.

I also wanted to add a little buzzing bee to the piece. I like that it is not the first thing you will notice when you look at this piece and you have to find it among the flowers, just like in real life. Because of the bee, I thought it would be appropriate to title this paper sculpture, “Busy As a Bee.” I liked the play on words.