How & Where to Find Pictures for Your Vision Board
So you want to create a vision board but you’re not sure the best way to find the images that you need for it?
No worries!
There are LOTS of possibilities!
There are physical and digital options for vision board images. There are free and cheap options as well as more expensive options.
There are options that work better for physical or paper vision boards. And options that work better for digital vision boards.
I’ll go over all the vision board image options that I know.
Where to Find Vision Board Images
MAGAZINES
This one is the traditional place to get images for vision boards. Many people, when they think of the vision board process or vision vision board parties, think of flipping through stacks of magazines. And it is a great place to start when creating a vision board. Not necessarily the best, but we’ll get to that later.
But then, that begs the question, where and how do you find the magazines to use for vision boards?
I have 8 ideas for you! Some more obvious; some less so.
8 Places to Find Magazines for Vision Boards
- You already have them (This is a cheater answer, I know, but you probably DO already have a handful of magazines that you could use, right?)
- Buy them, of course. You can buy a stack at the store for vision board making (This is more expensive, and it might feel like a waste to buy magazines simply to cut them up, but! Here me out on this one. When you think about the transformational impact that your vision board will have on your year and your life, then you might decide that it is totally worth it to head to the magazine stand and hand select a few magazines on targeted topics and interests. I’ve done this and felt that it was well worth the money spent.
- Subscribe. If you plan ahead, you can subscribe to many magazines for much less than you would pay on the newsstand. Like $5 for an entire years' subscription vs $5 for a single issue. For example, you can get Real Simple magazine this way through Amazon and it ends up being 42 cents an issue. Same with Travel + Leisure magazine.
- Post on Facebook asking friends and acquaintances for magazines that they no longer want.
- Ask at doctor and dentist offices for old magazines (although this option doesn’t really work during the Covid times we’re in right now)
- Pick up some for free at a magazine exchange (I’ve gotten many great stacks of magazines for free at the public library magazine exchange this way. Again, this one might not work well during Covid.)
- Find them at thrift stores (I’ve purchased magazines for super cheap at Goodwill and other thrift stores. Like 25 cents a copy.)
- Order magazines on eBay or etsy. (This works especially well if you’re looking for a stack of National Geographic magazines or fashion magazines, for example, but you can also find vintage magazines and other assortments.)
So there you go. Eight ways to get magazines for vision boards! (If you have any other ideas for finding magazines to use, please let me know!)
But magazines are not the only place to find images for vision boards! Here are some other good sources...
More Ways to Find Images for Vision Boards
Other places to find pictures you can use for your vision boards include books, catalogs, postcards, posters, and online (an entire topic in itself!). Plus, you can create your own images through taking photos or drawing. Here's more about each of these.
BOOKS
You can photocopy images from books you have around the house or library books. Or, you can even cut images out of old books that you might find at the thrift store, for example.
ONLINE
Finding images online is actually the main way I find my vision board images these days and it's one of the top methods I share in my Vision Board Workshop. Why? Because you can search for specific images and ideas and find exactly the right image to represent your goal or dream. I may write a separate entire blog post about this, so stay tuned!
DRAW IT!
If you want something specific that you’re not finding, simply draw it yourself! You can draw or paint directly onto your vision board or you can draw on a piece of paper, then paste it to your board.
TAKE PHOTOS
Take photos with your phone that you can print out and use on your vision board. For example, you want a job at a particular business in town? Take a photo of the building and add it to your vision board. Or, better yet, get a friend to take a photo of you standing in front of the business.
USE A VISION BOARD KIT
You can even buy vision board kits! Who knew?! I don’t know about the quality of images in these, but it might be worth trying if you want an easy-to-access assortment of vision board pictures.
Is that enough ideas for you? :)
Hopefully these ideas for finding pictures for you vision board are enough to get you started. You can use just one of these image sources or combine all of them. It's up to you!
And if you have any other ideas, please let me know!
Join the Vision Board Magic Workshop
Now that you're starting to think about finding images for your vision board, I'd like to invite you to join Vision Board Magic, my online workshop that you can take at your own pace from the comfort of your home.
In it, I'll guide you through my process of turning your dreams into reality. We'll start by translating your big dreams into goals and intentions, then I'll show you how to create a vision board that works, and finally how to use your finished vision board for the best possible outcome.
Learn more or sign up for the vision board workshop here.
PIN IT FOR LATER