Warning for mentions of alcohol and trypophobia on the bottom-right corner of the fifth image.

Frivolous Fridays are the Orbit bloggers’ excuse to post about fun things we care a lot about that may not necessarily have serious implications for politics or social justice. Although any day is a good day to write about our passions outside of social issues, we sometimes have a hard time giving ourselves permission to do that. This is our way of encouraging each other to take a break from serious topics and have some fun.

Last Friday was my birthday (which I share with the Earth). For the past few years, my birthdays have meant outings with friends or a partner or two, not a party.

This year, for my 28th, I decided a party was in order. I called it Creative Destruction and promised snacks, a boozy punch bowl, and art supplies. I asked that guests, if they so chose, to bring drinks and food they liked and further art supplies, as well as wear that thing they never get to wear elsewhere. Fueled by Girl Scout cookies, chips and guac, a punch bowl filled to the brim with a lovely red sangria, and a few other things, we arted. Hard.

One of my guests, Sean, arted before he even arrived. He came armed with a messenger bag and large flask emblazoned with his creation.

Astonishingly personalized, unique, and creative. I’m so into this version of me. They look fiercer than I think I am. Aspirational, really.

At the party itself, I had some supplies that I’d acquired randomly over the years, and some that I’d picked up especially for the occasion.

• coffee-table type books I had thrifted (Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings, and Giftwraps by Artists: American Quilts)
• glitter glue
• a set of letters made out of scratch-off paper and another with glittery-looking print
• adult coloring books (The Nearly Perfect Coloring Book: For the detail oriented by our very own Ashley, Fat Ladies in Spaaaaace: a body-positive coloring book, and Steampunk Designs Coloring Book) along with colored pencils
• whatever glittery and non-glittery stickers I found at the dollar store, featuring dinosaurs, sea creatures, and so on
• Sharpies in multiple colors
• dollar-store googly eyes
• craft glue
• glue sticks
• the 2015 Pusheen the Cat Calendar
• random magazines that they keep sending to my house for some reason

Notice the lack of loose glitter on that list. This was highly intentional. I mean, look at this sangria bowl.

Others brought:

• spray adhesive
• coaster-sized card stock
• rhinestones
• index cards
• canvases, mixing palettes, and paints
• crayons
• markers
• Crayola Model Magic

Technically, the first project was my labeling the bins so that I wouldn’t have to sort later.

I also made two collage/scrapbook-type things, since I am garbage at drawing freehand but do OK when assembling things.

Others did similarly, assembling art with what was available to them.

One guest went with a more text-and-doodle sort of thing. There’s a lot of humor in there.

The more artistically-talented guests did some cool things with paint.

There was also meta-art of that painting. That’s right: A friend painted my other friend painting his painting.

The next day, I organized all the supplies into Ziploc bags which all fit into a zip-up bag I had from a comforter set I’d bought.

As the arting (and the party overall) was a rousing success, the contents of this bag will likely make an appearance at more parties and gatherings I throw. I know exactly why I stopped doing arts and crafts: a combination of moving more towards digital fan-art instead of collaging and scrapbooking plus a general feeling of being artistically untalented. I want to start again, and it was more fun to do so with friends than alone.