Tutorial to create a hybrid vision board in Canva.
It's a new year, with new word, ideas + inspiration. Since 2016 I have purchased a class by Ali Edwards that focuses on the concept of choosing"one little word". The monthly prompts are a way for me to connect with my word and look for ways that it shows up for me.
February's prompt is creating a vision board. If I'm being honest, I'm not a fan of the collage technique. But by embracing the activity a couple of times, I was able to make it work for me. In the end, it's not about it being perfect, for me it's more about does this reflect who I am, or what makes me happy. I've created a cut + paste technique collage on a large canvas. I hung it up in my creative space. When I was ready to part with it, I took a photo of the board, and added it into my OLW album. I'm totally ok that I didn't hang onto that large canvas. I took what I needed from the activity and moved on.
When the February prompt rolled around again I chose to make my collage on card stock pages that would become part of my album. This 6"x8" size was definitely more manageable and I love having them have a home inside my album.
It's been a couple of years now since I've done this activity, I wanted to take what I've learned previously and yet what works for me, and where I'm at...right now. I believe each word becomes a part of me and my journey and I really want to be intentional about how I move forward with this activity.
In the past, I may have secretly enjoyed browsing the bookstore to gather magazines that inspired me, but it can be an expensive activity since you are going to cut them all up. This year I wanted to try something different. Could I make a "hybrid" version of a vision board? And could I make it align with my word. When I think of alignment, I think balance + all things working together in harmony. That's the vision I had.
Here's where my favorite design platform comes in again. I'm a HUGE fan because it's so easy to use! I'm going to walk you through how quick it was to create my vision board in Canva. This year I'm using a 4"x8" album by Citrus Twist Kits as a home for my OLW monthly prompts. So with that in mind, I opened up a new template and sized it to 8"x8". This would become my canvas on which to create my vision board.
Then I selected a photo grid, and resized it to a 2" square. Then just started to copy + paste them and then played with arranging them in a pattern of alignment that I found pleasing to me.
Next, I put on some background music that would help me embrace the "vision" zone. I asked myself this question: what does the word "align" look like to me? As soon as the first word came to my mind, I searched for photos of "beach" right in Canva. The selection is amazing!! If I didn't like a photo, I just clicked on more until I found one that matched the feeling of what I envisioned in my word. It's that easy, I just kept searching in Canva for photos of things that made me happy! When I couldn't find the right photo, I just dragged + dropped to upload an image I found online.
I wanted to use the blank spaces as places to add words, quotes, but leaving a few spots empty to add embellishments once it was printed. I added text boxes + a combination of fonts to complete my board. Once I got to a place where I was good to call it done, I downloaded it as a pdf and printed it on Epson matte double sided photo paper. This whole process took me less than 30 minutes.
I cut one page in half, and made a score line in the center, as it needed to fold in my album. Here's how my vision board looks inside my album.
The board in my album might be done, but I'm going to embrace this prompt all year long by creating a "living" vision board on the wall in my office. It's a place were my word can ebb & flow. I'm excited to keep adding to this and the contrast between this first photo and the one I will take at the end of the class.
I'm going to end this post with something that hangs on my wall + speaks loudly to me right now, maybe you will find a connection in it too.
ALIGN
"Destroy the idea that you have to be constantly working or grinding in order to be successful. Embrace the concept that rest, recovery, and reflection are essential parts of the progress
towards a successful and ultimately happy life".