Creative Cobwebs and Mandarins in Mesh: A Small-Project Side Quest

On chasing small ideas, making time to play, and the joy of making something just because.

Sometimes, a brief pivot, a vacation from your regularly scheduled creative endeavors, does you heaps of good. I keep a very informal list of ideas in my notes app, and some of them have been sitting there for literally years. There are always more things I want to make than there are hours in the day (or wherewithal in a lifetime). And of course, one must also do the things that generate income.

Still, a few times a year, I find it’s worthwhile to shake the cobwebs off my creative muscles by picking something random from the list and working on it for a day or two. Work hard, take it seriously, but play.

For example, for a few years, I saved those red mesh bags that oranges come in… you know the ones? I had a vague idea that I wanted to use them for something. I ended up incorporating some of it into a mixed-media collage, then set the idea on the back burner.

Recently, I had the revelation that I could digitally design and cut a mesh bag using my trusty Silhouette Cameo. That image (mandarins in a red mesh bag) has such iconic resonance. Turns out, I’m not the only one who thinks so. Still, I had a lot of fun creating a few variations, all sized to fit on the 8.5 x 11" paper I already have tons of in the studio.

For folks who work with paper cutting machines (I use a Silhouette Cameo, but Cricut is another favorite among paper crafters), you’ll know there’s a sweet spot when it comes to how thin a design can be before it shreds itself to bits just from peeling it off the sticky mat.

My first cut was too thick and chunky. The next one? Too delicate, it tore the moment I touched it. I was basically the Goldilocks of paper mesh bag prototyping. Eventually, I landed on a version that was just right: strong enough to hold its shape, yet still delicate enough to suggest the softness of plastic mesh.

Once I had the structure down, I experimented with the shape of the “bag” and decided whether to include small green paper leaves. I also used whatever orange paper I had in my studio, but to give it a bit more visual texture, I diluted some cheap red acrylic paint with water and misted it over the orange paper using a spray bottle. It’s subtle, but I love how it gives the citrus a kind of warmth and depth.

I experimented with double-sided adhesive sheets to attach the delicate paper, but that didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. Ultimately, I opted for a carefully applied UHU glue stick. I’ve tried many glues (most of them are excellent), but nearly all of them dry with a slight shine. So I’m forever in this quiet battle: how to apply glue cleanly, invisibly, and without ending up with glossy patches where I didn’t want them.

If you’re curious, I've collected a variety of illustrated versions of oranges in mesh bags on a Pinterest board, which I call “Fruit in nets”. Ha! It turns out to be a surprisingly popular jumping-off point, and I love seeing how different artists interpret it.

I think there’s real creative value in chasing an idea just because it’s been stuck in your head for a while… no big plan, no real point, just the quiet pull of curiosity. Sometimes you find something new in the doing. Sometimes it’s just a fun detour. No need for perfection, these certainly aren’t perfect, just a little indulgence for side-quest fresh-squeezed juice! I especially like when something is a small bite, meaning I can get somewhere with it within a day or two. Feel accomplished, take a meander, but remind myself that this whole creating thing is human.

Either way, it’s worth it.

Got anything rattling around your notes app or junk drawer that might be ready for its moment?

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