How to Make a Vision Board that Actually Works

How do we know vision boards work? Because we’re living proof. At Hummingbird Marketing Services, we’re avid believers in the power of manifestation and making a vision board that works. Over the years, we’ve mastered the art of asking the universe for what we want and watching it come to life, time and time again. 

Vision boards have been our secret weapon for conquering goals, surpassing dreams, and creating the lives we’ve always imagined. Founder & CEO Andi keeps her vision board hanging above her desk — her visions stay in sight. Web & Graphic Designer Elizabeth created more than 50 digital vision boards in 2025, one for each week to hone in on her dreams. And Marketing Content Specialist Sarah’s annual vision-boarding party has become a five-year-strong tradition of manifesting magic with friends.

If you’re ready to learn how to create a vision board that actually works, let us be your guiding light. Keep reading for our best tips and tricks to visualizing and manifesting beyond your wildest dreams.

Before You Start Making Your Vision Board

Know What You’re Aiming For

We won’t make you read an entire blog before sharing the biggest secret to making a vision board that works. It’s simple — know what you want. You have a much better chance of hitting a target when you know where you’re aiming. Knowing what you want before delving into any making, manifesting, and visioning is key. This may sound easy, but knowing what you want is a skill and a talent; the former is something you develop over time.

People who know what they want tend to achieve more, and sooner, because their path is known, the direction is established, and all they’ve left to do is move forward. For those of us who struggled picking a major, have never had a five-year plan, and are still mulling over the childhood question, “What do you want to be when you grow up,” manifesting is nearly impossible.

If this sounds like you, don’t worry. As we said, knowing what you want is a skill, and you can get better at it each year. Make clarity a key goal for you this year.

Before You Look Ahead, Look Back

Don’t go into creating your vision board blind; you’ll need to have a vision after all! In order to make a vision board that works, you need to be mindful throughout the process and intentional with each addition to your board. 

Before you even start your creation, we recommend working on a “Looking Forward, Looking Back” exercise. As we look at our past, we can be more intentional about our future. There are many exercises you can do to reflect on your past and set goals; we find the “Looking Forward, Looking Back” activity to be very effective in our process of creating a vision board that yields results. 

Create a quiet space to work on your reflection activity, with as few distractions as possible. This could be a coffee shop, a park bench, or a calm nook within your own house. Bonus points if the location has a nice view. If at home, consider lighting a candle and playing some relaxing music. 

Give yourself time — at least an hour and, ideally, three to four hours. You’ll need more time than you think to recall details from the past year and properly picture your ideal future. Eliminate distractions to the best of your ability; put your phone on do not disturb, log off your work computer, and tell your partner, housemates, kids, or whoever that you need the afternoon to yourself.

Goal Setting: Tips for Making a Vision Board that Works

Dream Big

Don’t be afraid to aim “too” high with your vision board. Success belongs to the people who unabashedly shoot for the stars. Stop worrying about what others will think. Put your ego aside, and dream up the biggest dream you can imagine, then think even a little bigger. 

Put one big, huge, crazy goal on your board; other goals can be more “realistic” if you prefer, but make sure to include at least one lofty one. Then remember, if by some chance you fall short of it in a year, you’ll still have achieved something great. You’ll be surprised by what you can achieve when you let go of limiting beliefs and allow yourself to dream big.

A quote we love: “Ask for more. The universe isn’t on a budget.”

Include a Variety of Goal Lengths and Difficulty Levels

Set goals that can be accomplished within the month, as well as 3-month goals and other goals that may take the full year to accomplish. Don’t forget to consider what you’d like to accomplish in the next few years and beyond. Where do you want to find yourself in 5 years, 10 years, and at the end of your lifetime? Considering these things in the present will help you to create a life that leads you in the direction of achieving your long-term goals. Including the short-term goals allows you to begin the year successfully and build momentum through the coming months.

We acknowledged the importance of including at least one Big Dream goal, but don’t forget to add in some easy ones, too. Consider adding the goal of spending time with loved ones, trying new restaurants, or watching good movies. 

In adding some goals that you’ll likely do anyway, you can feel proud of accomplishing these goals and find surprise in the many different ways they’ll play out in your future. Plus, finding joy in the everyday things is certainly no small feat.

Be Specific

As you work on the list of things you want, get more and more specific. Narrow your desires down as far as you can go. The clearer the picture in your mind, the better. If the goal you are imagining can’t be made more specific, don’t worry! If you know you want something, but aren’t sure about exactly what you want, it’s still important to include it! 

For example, traveling more may be a goal for you. Maybe you don’t know where you’d love to visit first, and that’s okay. Include a map, a passport, or plane tickets on your board to represent this goal. Of course, if you know your dream is to visit the vineyards of Provence, France, include a photo of exactly this. 

If you want to manifest more travel and end up only affording a West Coast road trip, you’ll still have achieved your goal, without leaving the country! Keeping some goals broad can be another way to ensure your own success.

Choose the Environment to Create Your Vision Board

Just as your environment for setting goals matters, it’s best to be intentional about the environment in which you create your board. This is highly personal. 

You may prefer an intimate night alone, in your clean home, with a candle lit and wearing comfy pajamas. Or, you might like the idea better of creating your vision board side by side with your partner, your kids, or your whole family. Some people prefer to craft their board surrounded by good friends. 

Click here for tips on throwing a successful vision board creation party!

Choosing Materials for a Vision Board that Works

Shop Your Home for Supplies

One of the best things about vision board creations is how little you need to get started. Once you have the mental work completed, you’ll just need to gather a few supplies.

You’ll need:

Shop your home for supplies. Do you have an old poster board, some leftover scrapbook paper, or cardboard boxes lying around? Pull out the craft box and be ready to get seriously creative. 

If you don’t have a stack of old magazines, grab onto mail-in ads, gift wrap, greeting cards, newspapers, old notes to self, and to-do lists.  

As you look around your home, and maybe even in your recycling bin, notice if anything stands out to you. Photos around your home can be great additions: polaroids, photo booth strips, and digital prints that you have taken from trips, moments of success, and times when you felt happiest.

Choose Your Vision Board Base

You’ll need a foundation for your vision board. This could be as simple as a piece of paper, but don’t be afraid to experiment with material. A thicker foundation can be an excellent base; consider using some recycled cardboard, a stretched canvas, a flat piece of wood, or even a mirror, leaving some space blank for you to see yourself in your vision. 

Get creative and see what you already have available around your house. Patterned paper or colorful upcycled packaging can be transformed into a truly unique vision board base.

Tips for Deciding What to Put on Your Board

Don’t Get Stuck to the Magazine

Traditional vision board creation requires a glue stick, a trusty pair of scissors, and a fat stack of magazines. And while this method is tried and true, don’t be afraid to experiment. Magazines in particular can be redundant and limited; plus, who even subscribes to print magazines anymore? 

You may find yourself flipping for hours and unable to find an image that visually represents your new workout routine or financial goals. To make your life easier, search for images on Pinterest or Google. Add images that not only represent the idea you want to convey, but that also carry the vibe you want to embody. 

Consider adding fun clip art, design elements, and even drawings to your board. You may want to add specific numbers that are lucky to you or match your goals. For example, include an image that shows the date of an important event or anniversary. 

Opt for a Digital Vision Board

Take advantage of the vastly useful internet. Search for images with intent, and be picky. Then print your favorites, or keep everything on your computer, and make a digital vision board. The number of online tools you can use to make a vision board is seemingly endless. 

One of our favorites is Canva, which has plenty of capabilities under the free version. You can upload images from your computer or Google and place them on a blank design, or make the board entirely through Canva by using the built-in image feature.

Get Creative and Think Outside the Box

Have fun with your creation! While you want to be intentional with the vision you piece together, don’t forget to enjoy the process! After all, you are making a piece of art, and when you look at it, you should be equally filled with joy as you are inspired. Some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Other Tips for Making a Vision Board that Works

Seeing Is Believing

Visualizing what you want is key. We can spend a lifetime dreaming in our heads, but these dreams only become realities when we can start visualizing them, believing in our ability to achieve, and truly going after what we want. 

Business & Executive Coach Dave Erland, a friend and client of Hummingbird, suggests not just visualizing but also feeling the physical sensations that accompany you in reaching your goal. For example, if your dream is moving to the coast, add a picture of the beach to your vision board, but then also allow yourself to feel the gritty sand on your toes, the warmth of the sun on your skin, and the wind whipping your hair against your face. 

Keep Your Vision Board in Sight

This step is obvious, but should not be overlooked! Choose a spot where you will easily see your vision board daily. 

If it’s a physical board, hang it somewhere in plain sight. If it is digital, you can print it and hang it up, or use it as your desktop background. Our recommended size for digital vision board backgrounds: 2560 px x 1440 px. 

Consider adding a written list of your goals to hang next to your vision board as a reminder of what you are working toward.

Check in Each Year

At the end of the year, take time to look at your vision board and physically mark off everything that came true. This is the best part about making a vision board — seeing it pay off! 

Use last year’s vision board in your process for setting goals for the next year, and don’t forget to celebrate your wins! If you make a digital vision board, you can edit your board every year. Remove what came true and what no longer aligns with the vision for your life, then add in all of your new aspirations.

At the turn of the new year, you may also consider writing a letter to yourself. We recommend doing this after taking the time to reflect on the past and set goals for the future. Unlike your vision board, keep this letter tucked away somewhere safe, but memorable. 

Each year, you can read a letter addressed from a slightly younger version of yourself, and write a new one to your future self. This exercise is a wonderful way to notice what changes each year, not just in all the things you manifest externally, but within you. 

As you practice this check-in over time, tracking the years you were anxious or lost will serve as evidence of growth in the years you found more joy, more clarity, and more balance. 

Check out this video we made for Instagram of everything that came true from Elizabeth’s 2025 Vision Boards.

Don’t Fall into the 1-Year Trap

Although this exercise is geared toward the New Year, vision boards are not exclusive to January. Make a vision board anytime you feel inspired to. This could be around your birthday or other important dates, or it could be multiple times throughout the year. 

Vision boards could be quarterly, monthly, or even weekly. Digital vision board creation may be an easier go-to for monthly or weekly manifesting, while you make a physical board once a year. 

Creating an annual board, while making more specific boards more frequently, can allow you to really hone in on your goals and accomplish more.

How to Throw a Vision Board Party

Choose a Location and Date

Just like you’ll want to consider the environment for creating a vision board by yourself, consider the setting for your party. Maybe it’s around the fire in your backyard or cozied up in your living room. Consider renting a room at your local library or meeting up at a local café or coffee shop. 

A typical time to host a vision board party is after the New Year. Waiting a week or so into the new year allows you and your guests time to consider resolutions and calm down from the holidays. But, you don’t have to wait for a new year to host a party; vision boards can be made anytime of the year! 

A vision board activity could be fun for a birthday party, Galentine’s celebration, the summer solstice, or the first day of fall!

Create an Informative Invite

Decide on who you’d like to invite with intention. Include just your closest friends or invite as many as you’d like to spread the power and joy of vision board art. Make a creative, inspiring invitation to send out with thorough instructions. 

Giving your guests a good understanding of the activity will help them to show up prepared, ensuring a more seamless party. Ask everyone to think about their goals and intentions for the new year, and include whatever supplies you’d like your guests to bring. 

Feel free to share this blog for inspiration.

Prep Your Supplies

Consider asking guests to come with a baggy or an envelope of printed images from online or magazine pages. This will allow everyone to make their boards while they mingle, without the pressure of finding all their images on the spot. 

If you’re on a budget, you can ask each person to bring their own supplies completely, or buy poster board or thick paper, a set of glue sticks, and some fun stickers. Ask guests to bring their clippings, a pair of scissors, and any other supplies they may have around their home.

Decide on Food & Drinks

Decide if you want to cook for your friends, offer light snacks, or make it a potluck. You may want to ask guests to bring a dish or snack to share, or their own beverages. 

A unique idea is hosting a “take-out indoor picnic” where you instruct guests to each bring their own meal of their favorite take-out. This takes off the pressure of cooking for everyone, no one needs to make a large spread to share, and each person can enjoy a meal they love.

Vision Board Party Set-Up

Setting up for your vision board party can be rather simple, but make sure you cultivate a space for creating. Make a good playlist, clean your space, and maybe even get a festive simmer pot going. 

Set up a table with enough chairs, or clear out a large space where guests can sit on the floor and create. Have the supplies out and ready to go. 

Other Ideas for Hosting a Vision Board Party

Consider making a welcome cocktail or mocktail for your guests. You can have fun with the theme of manifesting here (we can’t think of a better excuse for buying edible glitter), or select a cozy Winter beverage like hot chocolate or hot toddies. This adds a lovely and welcoming touch for your guests.

If you have access to a fire pit, starting or ending the night with a fire can be a meaningful addition to your event. Have guests write down something they want to let go of on a piece of paper, and then allow everyone to toss their baggage into the fire and watch it turn to ashes.