Vision Board
While taking entrepreneurship classes at college, I learned about a Vision Board. They are highly motivating and they allow you to visualize your goals just as the name suggests.
Pick Your Medium
For my medium, I have chosen tiny 6″ x 6″ by 1.5″ deep canvas that I will align on my wall to mimic an Instagram feed. I encourage you to get creative with your medium! Some suggestions and ideas include but are not limited to: collage on cork board or poster paper, a digital background on your computer with photos and empowering words, collection of items that you hang or put in shadow boxes, and the list goes on. You don’t have to stick with the traditional poster board and magazine picture cut outs. Your vision board is an outlet for you to spark your creativity and inspiration to chase your dreams.
Make a List of Your Goals
Making a list for your vision board should encompass all of your goals that you want to achieve in the future. Whether those goals are personal, financial, spiritual, health, find the best photos to represent them. I suggest getting on Pinterest and making a board to start gathering photographs together. The following is an example of what I have on my vision board. I chose the following nine goals because Instagram goes by three’s and I wanted this to look like a screen shot of a feed on my actual wall, however you can have as many items on your list as you like. I choose the following:
- Super Yatch signifying traveling around the world.
- Pool for exercising and entertaining guests.
- Home Theater to enjoy movies because I love getting lost in a good movie almost as much as a getting lost in a good book.
- Salt Water Aquarium because I think these fish are so pretty and I find it relaxing to watch them swim around.
- Pet animals. I’d love to have a rag doll kitty and a puppy grow up together when I own a modern minimalist house one day!
- Quote – “Hustle Hard” to remember to work hard for my goals and continue growing.
- Home Gym Room to work on my health and fitness goals everyday.
- Home Yoga Room or Meditation room.
- Travel Locations. It was hard to choose but, I went with Bora Bora because of the gorgeous sunset colors in the photograph.
Materials
This project cost me about $30 to make!
- 6 x 6 x 1.5 Canvas or Poster Board
- Mod Podge photo transfer Medium
- Foam Brush
- Lazer Printed Photographs on Regular Paper
- Scissors
- Small bowl of water
- Kitchen Towel
- Mod Podge Finish
Step 1: Prep the Photographs
You will want to cut the photographs to the size of the canvas or print them exactly to size. You will also need to print these photos with a lazer printer on regular printer paper (not photograph paper). I went to my local library to printer my photos out. If you want to have the exact image you will need to photoshop it to be flipped, especially if there are words on the image. In the example above you can see I have flipped the words “hustle, baby”.
Step 2: Apply Photo Transfer Medium to Blank Canvas
The first step is to apply the photo transfer medium evenly to the blank canvas covering the entire canvas surface. I would suggest adding double the amount shown. I felt that when I added more transfer Medium that the photo was less susceptible to getting holes.
Step 3: Add the Photo
To apply the photograph to the canvas, flip it up side down with the white side of the paper facing up and make sure that it is aligned correctly before pressing and smoothing it out on the canvas. You can smooth it out with your fingers but I suggest using something like a pen put on its side or credit card to help you smooth the photograph out.
Step 4: Let it Sit Overnight
You will need to let the canvas sit over night in order for the transfer to process. This will give it enough time to fully dry. I would even suggest letting it dry for two days.
Step 5: Apply Water and Gently Rub
Next you will want to take water and slightly dampen the canvas. This will allow you to gently rub off the excess printer paper. I suggest being very gentle when rubbing off the printer paper. You should slowly add more water as needed to rub the paper off. This process will take a while to do correctly and to not harm your photograph. To help remove the paper from the canvas, you can also use a wet cloth to help wipe away the remaining pieces.
Step 6: Finish with Mod Podge
This step is optional, but I finished my vision board canvases with mod podge to help protect the photo and make it easier to clean off dust later on. I also found that this step helped to prevent the dry paper from showing up on the photo if there were any very tiny pieces left. I fully removed any hanging pieces of paper and wet the picture while adding modge podge evenly over the photo.
Step 7: Ready to Hang
As I mentioned, I wanted my vision board to look like an Instagram feed. To achieve this look, I hung my pictures in rows of three by three columns. I positioned them about an inch and a half apart from each other all around. I hung mine next to my home office desk so that I can look at it whenever I feel burnt out and it picks me right back up!
Conclusion
This project was fun but there were some pro’s and con’s. One of the biggest problems I ran into was that I had to redo six of my photos! They developed too many holes from rubbing the paper off. If you do have to remove the lazer ink from the canvas, do the following. Apply baking soda and water together to make a paste and then let it sit on the ink. It will wipe and scratch away with ease. I was expecting it to transfer perfectly but it is still a cool project. I hope to find a better method in the future for transferring photos to canvas!
What do you have listed out for your vision board and what medium did you or would you use?! Leave your answers in the comments below!
Kadee Scott says
I tried this and it didn’t work. I’m going to just decopage a picture onto the board instead.
kitstanwood@gmail.com says
Sorry that this didn’t work out for you! What materials did you use? I hope the decopage onto a board works for your project!
Cory angeles says
I’m so excited to try this.. suprising nana!!!!
Nikoletta Pados says
Making these vision boards feels like working on my goals,…. and the best side effect is it also decors my home with my dreams! Thank you for sharing this technique!
Lupita says
Hi is this easy to clean? Is there anything i could use to spray it with to protect it?
Toni Pokai says
Hi there, I am so going to do this. I’m not sure though that photo transfer medium that is used. Any tips would be great thanks.
kitstanwood@gmail.com says
Hello!! The exact products I have used are linked on the blog to purchase from amazon (:
Julie says
Love this. And love the library suggestion for those of us that don’t gave laser printers. I wonder if you could us acrylic paints yo enhance the photo.
kitstanwood@gmail.com says
I think you could but you would be able to see the paint on the top so that is why I didn’t choose to fill in the holes. I suggest going VERY slow when rubbing the top layer off. I think getting the perfect amount of water (not too much, not too little) helps in removing it also.
elicia Higgins says
use a continuous spray bottle to get it damp enough it works amazingly
sam says
Love this DIY project. Found you in the common group board and click to see your site. What I would love to see more is a video of this tutorial. Please let me know if you decide to create one.
kitstanwood@gmail.com says
Thank you!! That’s a super cool idea to do a video. I just actually got into making videos with adobe premier this past month (mostly makeup videos right now) so I will definitely let you know if I end up making one soon!
Isabel tipple says
A little suggestion I will put forward to enhance this idea even more is, why not get yourselves a set of acrylic paints and touch up where you have Ho,es? Or, perhaps just paint the entire picture using the photo as your template? This will give a truly original look and you will learn some painting techniques in the process!. It will also fully protect your images. Very tempted to give this technique a go using a portrIt of my beloved pet. Thanks for sharing your pin.
kitstanwood@gmail.com says
Thanks for your suggestion! I think it would take some time to match the exact color to the photos, but possible for experienced painters and a great idea to fill any holes! The paint would be pretty obvious on the top which is why I didn’t go that route. When doing this project you should definitely go slow and take your time when revealing the photo below to avoid holes. Painting the entire photo is different then transferring the photo and would give a different look. Both great and both fun (: I hope your Pet photo comes out amazing!!!
Simon says
Great idea with the transfer, I like the DIY and if you need help, we are offering tools to create your vision board.
Good tutorial!
http://believeinwords.com/
Lindsey Puls says
This is such a cool idea!! I want to try this now! I have a lot of empty wall space in my apartment right now and this would be fantastic. Thank you for sharing!
~Lindsey
http://have-clothes-will-travel.com/
Jenn Wang says
I LOVE this idea! Such a great easy DIY project. I’m always looking for new ways to display my photos in a creative way and this is perfect! Thanks for sharing <3
Jenn
http://www.honeydewblog.com
Jennifer Pilgrim | Mom Skills says
I would love to do this with some photos I have! Great idea! The value pack of mini canvases is a good deal too.
Victoria says
Such a cool idea! I really want to do this now 😀
Caitlin says
What a great idea for a project! It came out great. I love the distressed look. (PS – I love your kitty! 🙂 )
katrina gehman says
i have thought about donig a vision board, but keep forgetting. i really should. looks great.
lydia says
I’ve seen this before! such a cute and fun DIY, I will have to try this out next time I have a picture!
Rachel says
What a cute idea! I love this project and love how simple it is. Great idea!
HilLesha says
Now, that is different! I wouldn’t mind trying this out sometime. Thanks for sharing this creative idea!
Nikki says
I have heard of vision boards, but yours is an awesome way to turn it into a really neat piece of art. I love how you did a photo transfer to the canvases.
Carly Delengowski says
Looks like a fun project! I’d love to try it myself!
xx Carly | http://www.thecarlycollective.com
Nikki says
Oh wow, that’s such a cool idea! I think it would also make a neat gift, too. I have a lot of pictures that would look super cute on canvas.
Tereza says
This is such a fun project! Absolutely love it and will most definitely be trying it myself. It’s like a real life Insta feed! x
Angela Ricardo says
Wow this is really a creative idea! I absolutely like how easy this is. Im sure this will be a lovely piece in my wall.
Charlotte says
This is the best idea for us! we are remodelling the house and I was thinking of getting some canvas pictures so I might try some transfers myself!
Katriza Luna says
I love this tutorial! It is definitely something I would love to try! My walls are looking a little bare!
Krystel | Disney on a Budget says
Omg this is the prettiest vision board I’ve ever seen! Definitely trying this out
CourtneyLynne says
Omg so love this idea!!! I have two vision boards. One for work and one for family. I will have to do this next time
Theresa says
This is a really neat idea! I love the way yours turned out. It looks very inspirational.
Reesa Lewandowski says
Oh I am loving your vision board! It adds a whole new level to the traditional vision boards!
Ana De- Jesus says
I actually have a few empty square canvases at home so I like the idea of creating my own vision board to look like an Instagram board. Especially if it looks as good as yours!
Cassidy's Adventures says
Oh my goodness, I want to make these!! That is so cute! This summer, I will have a bit more time on my hands, so I will definitely have to be more crafty 😉
Cindy Ingalls says
What an amazing idea. Not only do you have an incredible vision board, but also a true piece of art. Sounds like a fun project to create.
Amanda Love says
That has got to be one of the best vision board ideas I’ve seen! I think it’s beautiful and it’s a great way to showcase your goals and to motivate yourself to keep moving.
Jeanine says
This is neat and creative! Looks easy to transfer the photos. I would like to do something like this in my spare time. Would have to think what I would want to put up to show my vision.
Kristina Paché Ferency says
This is so cute and unique! I would love to do this and put it on my wall. Very creative and allows you to use your imagination!
Belle says
This is such a great idea! I didn’t know you can actually do this on your own. I love how it looks. I just hope I have all this time to do a project like this.
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Mike o says
This is so cool! I had no idea the photo transfer stuff existed. That opens up alot of cool potential and this vision board looks awesome!!
Kim says
I never knew how to do this! I love saving photos and this would be a great gift idea. I love this for our vacation photos and for Mother’s Day gifts.
Janel says
I’ve tried the photo transfer before on blocks of wood and I don’t know what I did wrong but it didn’t work out. I would like to try it again on canvas but I’m kind of leery about it not working again for me .
kitstanwood@gmail.com says
Oh no!! What brand did you use?! Get the stuff I did and follow my steps and you will be golden!!! (:
Rebecca says
You can just put a layer of modgepodge on the canvas place photo on top of the modgepodge. photo facing up. Smooth it out then put another layer of midge podge on top. I do this all of the time no wiping required. If you smooth it out well enough most of the bubbles will go away when it dries.
Joanna @ Everyday Made Fresh says
I love this project so much! The destressed look it gives the photos is great! I totally have to do this!
robin rue says
This is an awesome idea. I would LOVE to make a vision board like this for my home office.
Jenna Urben says
What a great DIY tutorial, thank you for sharing truly great photos! I’ve never created a vision board, but now I want to in my new home office 🙂 I love your idea of mimicking an Instagram feed!
Alina | besosalina.com says
Such a great and thorough tutorial. Can’t wait to try!
Cacia says
This is so cool! I had heard of vision boards before but you took it to a whole other level. You made it fun and creative again not just a task!
Victoria says
Oh my! I absolutely adore this idea!! I’ll definitely have to try it myself! Thank you for sharing! X
Victoria | VictoriaaHelenn