A mini (but mighty) visual for the New Year ahead!

What a year this has been! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to put 2020 behind me. One activity I love to do around the New Year is to create a vision board - a visual representation of what I want to bring into my life, or how I want to feel (or both)! - in the New Year.

I have a tradition of making a vision board for the Jewish New Year (like from my vision board workshop). Another good time to make one is around New Years Eve or New Year’s Day. With good riddance to 2020 - it seems like the perfect time for this project. This year, instead of making it on a board, I decided to make a mini version on small block of wood.

I love the size. Even though it’s small, it feels weighty and substantial when I hold it in my hands. It feels like I’m holding an intention - which starts as a visual (in this case, all six sides of the mini vision board). The hope is for me to take positive actions in the year ahead to bring these intentions into my life.

This is such a kind activity to do for yourself, and if you have a little bit of time (it took a couple of hours - even with the small size), you can make this wonderful little vision board. Here’s the process:

Mini Vision Board

Supplies:

Small Wood Block
Magazines
Scissors
Gluestick
Optional, but also wonderful - photo, bits of a special card, washi tape, scrapbook paper, a cup of coffee or tea to sip on

Here’s how to make it:

1. Gather some magazines. I like to sweep through the magazine, without a lot of thought, just cutting and tearing out words and images that call out to me.

I place the cut images into three piles: background, detail images and words.

Here’s a little explanation:

Words - cut or tear words in different shapes and sizes that resonate with you . There are thousands of words in a magazine, and really, when I think about it, it’s such an interesting process to gather words.

Without even realizing it, the words might just reveal something important that you are seeking in your life. A couple of years ago, I noticed that I cut the word “happy” eight times. It was a real lightbulb moment. Looking back, it’s not too surprising that I had some pretty significant life changes that year. Most notably, leaving a long-held position and starting this blog!

Detail - cut or tear pictures of things that are clearly defined, like a girl, house, flower, map, - basically, anything that is a noun (person, place or thing)! You can also include personal photos as detail images.

Background - cut or tear large scale images, blocks of color or anything that will look nice as a canvas, layered underneath detail images and words. You can also include scrapbook papers, cards or a favorite page from a book.

2. Select your favorite words and images to begin building your board. It’s okay to not use everything that you cut out.

Start with one side of your block. Cut your background images to fit, maybe it will wrap around to another side of the block. It’s up to you. Next layer on detail images followed by words.

When you’re happy with how it looks, glue the layers down with your glue stick, starting with background image.

Repeat this on all sides of your block (front, back, top, bottom, and edges) until it’s covered.

And that’s it - a mini vision board on a block of wood! Having a mental checking-in with yourself and how you’re feeling is a form of self-care and the Jewish value Shmirat HaGuf (caring for the mind, body and soul), and I think it’s a wonderful way to start a New Year.

Do you have any New Year rituals? Let us know in the comments below. You can learn the process of making a traditional DIY vision board here. For more posts on taking care of yourself, there’s nothing more nourishing than our family’s recipe for Nana Shirley’s Chicken Soup, and for a meaningful way to “count your blessings,” you can make a DIY: 100 blessings necklace, and visit our Winter Round-up for more activities to keep you warm and cozy this winter season.

I hope this New Year is filled with many moments of self-care and joy.

~ Jennifer