Well, it definitely is that time when people start to think about what the new year will have in store for them, and while resolutions may work for some people, others are looking toward intentionality and being present with what they are hoping for their lives. I tend to lean toward the latter, Because let’s be honest, it is so much easier to live with intentionality than to feel like you are failing at life and need to resolve to be better. Usually I resolve to eat better or exercise more. But two weeks in, I forget what I said I was going to do. And I go back to the habits that I am not too fond of, but don’t really have a focus in staying on track. So, lately, I have been creating vision boards. This is not a new idea, I was told about this process from a friend of mine, and every year, she gets together with a group of friends, and together they create their vision boards together. They start with a blank canvas, but you can definitely use paper, or cardboard, or whatever you have in your space as a starting point. You also need magazine images and words, scissors and glue as your absolute basics. I tend to make a background, so paint can be handy to start with too. In essence, a vision board is a visual reminder of your goals and dreams for the year, and you put this visual reminder in a place that you will see it every day; you may be surprised at how many of these items come to fruition over the course of the year!
So where to start? This can be as big or as small as you want it to be, based on your lifestyle and needs. For mine, I am using paper as the base, and because I know that much of this is going to be covered with my magazine images, I wanted to try some new-to-me materials, and didn’t worry if I made any mistakes- I could cover them up. So I took my paper, and I scribbled in some borders with my oil pastels.
I made sure to use pastels that are NOT water soluable, though in general, I like those too. I just knew I was going to use watercolor and wanted that resist look. Plus it is going to be covered up, so I can throw perfection out the window.
Now, the watercolors I used…..
Have you seen these before? I was trained in college with tradition tubes of watercolor, and then crayons trays in my elementary school days, but we got some of these at the office, the ladies I work with just love them, and I thought, it is always good practice to try a new material by myself before introducing to clients, so I pulled these off of the shelf. It is interesting, they are thicker than straight water, but not by much. More like…. miso soup consistency. I generally tend to do a wet on wet watercolor technique, so that is where I started here too. I got my paper wet before dipping my brush in the paint, and then letting the paint move where it needed to move on the page.
Looks pretty neat, and the colors are pretty bold! Above is still wet, and here is the dry version….
Oooh, that is interesting how different it looks! A puddle of water might look dark and bold, but then let it dry, and it lightens up a LOT! Just as a side note, this paper is a mixed media weight paper. Watercolor works best on paper that can hold the amount of water that is needed for watercolor, so your effects might be different if you use a lighter-weight paper.
The next step is to find my magazine images to represent those goals that I have for myself. But how do you figure out those goals? Some people are more general, some more specific. There is no wrong way. You can start by just starting to write it all out, stream of conscious, and see what comes up for you. You can take note of the significant areas in your life- like home, work, children, sports, travel, fun- and just start brainstorming about what each area might look like in the future. Then you find images that will bring you a visual reminder of the goal you have for that area of your life. For me, I found images for gardening, animals, and lots of words and phrases to help me remember what is important.
Then it is just a matter of assembling! Putting everything on the page, and trying to make it look visually appealing is the fun part! And you are the artist, so there is no wrong way. Creating a collage that will invite you to take a moment and recognize what you are working toward throughout the year is a sure way to encourage growth toward those intentions! 
And then, I added glitter and some written goals to finish it off, but you can do it whichever way you want! (I highly encourage glitter though!)
The next step will be to laminate this, because if it is going to last for an entire year where I am going to place this, I need the magazine images to stay in place; if you are using a canvas, you can use an acrylic sealer of your choice from the craft store- Mod Podge or Gel medium are my favorites. Then hang it where you are going to see it!
Have you made a vision board at some point in your life? I would love to hear your story, and learn some of the ways you approached setting up your vision board! Comment below and remember to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram too!
