Here is the 3rd post in our series about honoring the New Year with Vision Boards:

I hope your walks are going well! As you are busy quieting your mind of noise, it’s time to start preparing to make your Vision Board. Before New Year’s Day, gather any necessary materials. Below is the Materials List from my book:

So that’s it…gluesticks (I prefer “Wrinkle-free” which are available at art and craft supply stores), scissors, foam core boards and old magazines. If you happen to have any old copies of O (the Oprah magazine) you will be glad you do! O is filled with inspiring content. Have on hand any magazines that appeal to you right now as you ponder 2015. Choose magazines in a few categories: parenting, knitting, yoga, business, psychology, travel, fly fishing, art, home & garden, finance, fitness, quilting–whatever it is that you want more of in your life for 2015. Don’t get too hung up on your selections and try not to anticipate what will call to you. You are better off having too many magazines than too few. Just as in the last post, try to not think too much about this. At this point, think in broad brush strokes and large categories instead of details.

If you are making boards with your family, get one board for each person. Be creative with your substrate. Foam core boards (available at Michael’s and other craft and office supply stores) are perfect for this because they are cheap, lightweight and stiff so you can prop your board anywhere in your house without having to hang or pin it. (You will want to look at your board every day!) BUT foam core is not a sexy material and isn’t recyclable so you can feel free to make your board on any substrate that works for you including: poster board, kraft paper, tree bark, card stock–anything! My friend, Cyndi Coon, makes Vision Journals. She fills art journals with pages and pages of collages.

If you already have my book, you know that I guide you through a similar exercise called Soul Boxes in which you make your Vision Board inside of a cigar box. This is a very cool alternative but I’d like to offer another option here because I cooked it up with my family last year and it was fun: Vision Prayer Flags.

I’m a huge fan of creating modern, artful prayer flags (as we did with the 4,000 flags we received for our Happy Flag Project in honor of the Dalai Lama). “Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags are strung across sacred sites and mountain ridges. The flags do not carry prayers to gods, which is a common misconception; rather, the Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all.” The modern, handmade version of these traditional flags creates a lovely visual reminder of your intentions which will hang in your backyard all year–even as the wind carries the spirit of your message.

This activity, as with Vision Boards is appropriate for even young children. If you choose to do this instead, you will  need some fabric scraps, glue stick, rectangles of white (or any color) fabric for each person (roughly 9″ x 10″ or so), scissors, fabric markers, and packaged bias or twill tape, ribbon or cord to string the flags. You’ll need a sewing machine or you can hand stitch your appliqué down if you choose to add fabric scraps.

Stay tuned! More to come this week…