Vision Board Ideas
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I recently made a vision board with a friend of mine, something I haven’t done in years! It was such a fun and relaxing activity that I just had to share my vision board ideas. If you’ve never made a vision board before or haven’t done it in a while I strongly encourage you to give it a try.
Vision boards are a great way to help you identify your goals. Creating one is a wonderful mindfulness activity, and once your board is on display it serves as inspiration every time you look at it.
If you find yourself in need of a pick-me-up or help with goal setting, grab some old magazines and some scissors and get creative!
How to Create a Vision Board
Supplies:
- Poster board or large piece of cardboard
- Magazines, photos, catalogues; anything that can add to your vision board that you don’t mind cutting up
- Stickers and other embellishments (optional)
- Scissors
- Glue sticks (good quality)
- Blank paper (for notes or titles)
- Art supplies like markers, pens, pencils, etc, as needed
- Speaker and candles or incense, to create a peaceful space (optional)
How to Create a Vision Board Step by Step:
- Gather Your Vision Board Supplies
Since vision boards use a mix of images and text, mostly clipped from magazines, you’ll need to prep your materials in advance
If you don’t regularly subscribe to (and save) magazines, ask family and friends who do for copies. Other great places to get old magazines are your local library (they often sell worn or outdated bundles for crafts), thrift stores, and online buy/sell groups.
I opted to use a mix of old magazines and a few new ones I purchased at Barnes and Noble specifically for my vision board. This is optional, but I found it nice to be able to choose a couple magazines that had the perfect pictures for the best final creation.
Besides magazines, you can also use old catalogues, vision board material kits, doubles of printed photos, and even print some pictures out if you want something really specific.
For the actual vision board, poster board usually works well and is affordable at most craft stores. You can also use a scrap piece of cardboard if you’d rather recycle. - Set the Scene
Vision boards are a fun, relaxing activity for all ages, but especially adults. To help with the mood, I set up a peaceful space that had plenty of space to get creative.
You could create your vision board at the dining room table, but I opted to spread out on the floor with cushions and blankets instead.
Before you start, make sure your supplies are accessible. You don’t want to break focus running around looking for a marker or missing magazine!
Finally, I added relaxing scents and music to the space to really help set the mood.
- Visualize Your Goals Through Meditation
You don’t need a detailed plan before you start, but it’s important to visualize your goals so you can reflect them on your vision board.
I opted for a guided vision board meditation video on Youtube to help get me in the right mindfulness space, but you can use whatever visualization method works best for you.
If you feel you might forget some elements of your goals, jot down your vision board ideas either during or right after the visualization process. - Cut Out Pictures and Quotes
Now that you have a rough outline, go through your magazines and cut out and pictures, quotes, headlines, or small passages that reflect your goals. This isn’t the time to be specific; you’ll narrow down your choices after.
Don’t be afraid to clip elements that jump out at you, even if they’re not directly related to visualization. We’re attracted to things for a reason; trust your subconscious!
- Arrange Clippings on Your Poster Board
Once you feel you have enough magazine clippings to match your vision, start arranging them on your vision board. There’s no rules here, get creative!
Some people like to group certain items together into sections for each goal. Or you might want to show a timeline, with the first goals on one end and your future goals at the other.
I grouped some of my goals together, but went for a collage-style vision board so the lines between each are blurred. After all, our lives are one big picture, not a bunch of smaller goals!
When you arrange your clippings, don’t be afraid to superimpose some cut out elements on top (like I did with the rainbow and some of the quotes) or trim your magazine clippings into shapes like hearts or circles.
Remember, this is a process. You might have to weed out some of your clippings for space or aesthetic, or go back to find more pictures to fill in gaps during this step.
- Display Your Vision Board
After your board is finished and dried make sure to display it somewhere prominent. Vision boards work best when you can see them regularly for inspiration!
Some fun places to display your vision board:
Hung on the wall, either as-is or framed.
In your office (home or, if allowed, at work).
Your bedroom or ensuite, so you can see it every morning.
Take a photo and set it as your phone or desktop wallpaper.
Add a vision board to your journal:
If you love to journal you could create your vision board within your journal or add a smaller one to your journal that is representative of your larger vision board.
Ideas for What to Put on a Vision Board:
- Goals for the next 6 months or year
- Career vision board (great for students!)
- Vacation bucket list
- Fitness or health goals
- Love and romance goals
- Positive affirmations
- Pictures you like/that make you happy
- Money and financial goals
- Dream home and DIY ideas
How to Host a Vision Board Party With Friends
Vision boards are personal, but they don’t have to be created privately. I actually made mine with a friend! If you want to host a fun vision board party for adults or teens here’s some tips to make it successful:
- Have every guest bring a selection of magazines so you have more variety
- Choose a large space to work in so you have enough room to spread out
- Make sure guests bring supplies like glue, scissions, and poster boards, or have enough on hand for everyone
- Remember that not everyone will have the same approach to visualization or creating their vision board; let each guest work in their own way
- Opt for relaxing music and scents that everyone will enjoy
- Consider offering (mess free) snacks and refreshments
- Encourage each other and have fun
Once you finish your vision boards, encourage everyone to share their goals, what they chose for their vision board, and why.
Another great idea is to check in with your friends (maybe another get-together?) later in the year to see how they’re progressing on those goals.
Other Tips for Creating Vision Boards
Can I Create a Digital Vision Board?
I perfer hands-on crafts over digital art, but if you’re more of a tech-person you can definitely make a digital vision board instead.
Free websites like Canva are great for creating online collages. You could also use Pinterest to create a “secret” board that acts as a vision board, too.
These tools are also great for organizing your vision board ideas before you make your final copy on paper.
The Law of Attraction: Do Vision Boards Work?
Vision boards work based on two principles.
First, vision boards provide an inspirational roadmap to help realize your goals. If you don’t clearly identify what you want to achieve it’s very hard to accomplish it! Displaying your vision board serves as a reminder to help you achieve your goals.
Second, many people believe that vision boards work based on the law of attraction. If you’re familiar with the Secret, you may know all about it already. But the idea is that when you open yourself up to things happening, they will happen. By creating a vision board that reflects your dreams you’re inviting them to come true.
Can Men or Couples Make Vision Boards?
Absolutely! Vision boards are for anyone. Kids, teens, adults, and yes, men, all can benefit from the meditation and goal-setting you get from this activity.
Men may prefer to add some men’s magazines to the mix to help better reflect themselves and their goals. Otherwise, guys can use these same vision board ideas to set their goals and dreams too.
Vision board making is also a fun date-night idea for a couple to try. You can each make your own based on personal goals, or make a single vision board with your shared goals as a couple.
