The art of making of a mood board

I’m sorry it’s been a couple weeks since my last post. As I vented about on my Instagram stories Friday night, it’s been hard to know what to focus my energy on and what to post. There are so many things going on in the world, I just needed some time to process it before I could put out anything else. 

I thought this post would be a good start to hitting the refresh button because I know it’s one a lot of people are interested in! Whenever I post about my mood board I always have a few admirers, and some friends have asked how I make them, so I knew I had to share. There aren’t too many secrets in making a mood board (or vision board or collage or whatever you want to call it). The only thing that really matters is if you like how it looks, and if it inspires you. 

I’m also very into visualization and manifesting my dreams, and a mood board really helps with that. When I was disassembling my old one, which you’ll see below, there were a solid number of photos and lifestyle quotes that I felt like I really lived out in the time since I made that mood board (you can see more photos of it in my Uptown apartment tour). One major one being the magazine clippings of the Spanish Steps in Rome, where I have now lived and traversed through numerous times during the fall. It was gratifying to look at past dreams and wishes and know that I was able to realize them.

I set about making this current mood board during quarantine, when I knew that I couldn’t be doing much in terms of making plans, but I wanted to really spend time visualizing what I hope my future looks like next. A pause to set intentions and re-evaluate my path. That is what inspired this board, and I now keep it above my bed so I can look at it every day. There are layers upon layers of my hopes and dreams, secrets I wish to come true and I know that by recognizing and visualizing them I am already one step closer. It doesn’t matter if someone else might not be able to interpret your board, as long as you know the significance and meaning it will remain special. 

So, I thought I would share my step by step process to make it easy to follow along. It’s a little more involved than just tearing through one magazine, and I hope it inspires some of you to make your own. If you’re looking for another project, check out my post on documenting my travels. That is another favorite for sure.

Without further ado, the making of a mood board…

1: where to find your inspiration

There are quite a few different sources I have to pull from when I make mood boards. The first is obvious, and that’s magazines. I typically use my Condé Nast Traveler, and any others I’ve picked up at train stations or airports (remember those?).

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Another source is my box full of inspiring things. This is an old Jeffrey Campbell shoe box (he makes my favorite platform rain boot), and it is where I throw old postcards, photos, magazine scraps, museum pamphlets, truly anything that catches my eye and which I think I will use in the future.

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Another very easy idea is to print your favorite images and quotes from Pinterest. I usually just download the images and print through Shutterfly (I’ve found they have the best quality). I also love my prints from Parabo Press, which is how I typically print my Instagram photos.

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2: the supplies you’ll need

This time, I used washi tape in addition to pins to hold everything in place. My bulletin board is just a generic one that I bought years ago from Target, but painted the boarders black.

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3: out with the old

I wanted to share a few photos of the ‘before,’ when I tore everything off the bulletin board to start anew.

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4: building the layers

Once you have a fresh board and a pile of content to pull from, it’s time to just go at it. I like to use larger clippings to form the background of the mood board, then add smaller ones as I build more layers. I always end up adding a lot of layers, more than I ever plan because there’s just so much I want to include. That’s okay, because as long as I can see part of an image peeking out, I know it’s there and that’s what matters most.

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5: the final product

Placement is key, you want to put your board somewhere you’ll see often, everyday. I used to have it leaned against my desk, so every time I sat there I would see it. Now I have this one above my bed, and I love it! I’ve also placed some books and art in front of it to add to the inspiration.

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I hope you all enjoyed this post! Please tag me on Instagram if you make your own, I’d love to see it.