An easy DIY project, an inspiration board is a thought-provoking, kinetic piece of personalized art that reminds you to focus on what’s truly important to you. Vision boards are forums where you and your loved ones can post inspirational images and sayings that remind you to focus on your unique set of desires–whether it’s painting your bedroom, planting a spring garden or living simply.
Build Your Board
Consider your vision board an ever-evolving art project. You can personalize the space and pick and choose elements based on how you and your family intend to use it. We cut a piece of Homasote fiberboard–a recycled, tackable material–to fit a vintage frame and wrapped it in fabric for a polished look, but there are many options out there. You could adhere cork tiles to a wall, hang a ready-made cork board or mount vintage metal trays and attach cut-outs with magnets.
Make a weekly or monthly activity out of clipping and arranging inspirational pictures and phrases. Taking items off the board may be as important as putting them up. Consider how many items you can “check off” your vision board each month.
If you’re planning a vacation, hang photos and articles about the places you hope to explore. If you have a remodeling project in mind, tack up how-to articles from magazines or color combinations that catch your eye. Want a great job? Clip inspirations that suggest abundance in your career. If you have children, you can use the board to teach them about goal-setting. What’s going on in your children’s lives? What images encourage good study habits and their rewards? Is there a piano recital or a swim meet coming up?
Support Your Vision (Board)
Collect a variety of “accessories” to use with your board. If your vision board isn’t near a desk or table, you might consider hanging a shelf or finding a small, secondhand table for supplies. Store fun pushpins, tape, colored paper, scissors, magnets and whatever else strikes your fancy in repurposed vessels. You can find unique pushpins made of vintage items on Etsy (see Resources), or make them yourself out of old earrings and brooches.
Use a pretty basket or box to store magazines, catalogs and newspapers you collect throughout the month. After each “clip session,” visualize getting rid of everything that doesn’t support your desires as you toss the magazines into the recycle bin. To play up your vision board, thoughtfully consider its surroundings. A ceiling-mounted track light or lamp can add emphasis; a comfortable chair and area rug encourage “hanging out” or meditation; and a nearby houseplant can symbolize personal growth.
Daily Affirmations
Three ways to give yourself a little daily reminder of your goals
1. Set two favorite bowls near your board. On the first day of the month, one bowl is empty and one has 31 pebbles. Every day, move a pebble to its new bowl. To carry inspiration in your pocket, take the day’s pebble with you and return it to the appropriate bowl in the evening.
2. Place a leaf, petal or trinket from your daily travels in your bowl. As the days go by, look at your collection. Do you see a common thread? What might it symbolize?
3. Write a daily goal on a note and place it in the bowl. When it is full, remove each item and reflect on where, when and why you wrote it.
Resources
Boards and Frames
eBay
vintage frames, metal trays
Homasote
recycled tackable panels
Quill
Cradle-to-Cradle-certified cork boards
Terracycle
recycled wine cork bulletin board
TIAS
vintage frames bins and baskets
The Container Store
natural and recycled-fiber baskets and bins
Ten Thousand Villages
fair-trade baskets, bins
Accessories
Button Ups Designs
antique button pushpins
libbyjoy1
vintage jewelry pushpins
Near Sea Naturals
organic and natural fabrics
Jami Lin uses her perpetual vision board to visualize goals and to maximize ever-changing feng shui energies. Visit her at jamilin.com.
