Temporary + Tactile Mood Boards

Inspiration takes many forms. Personally, going on adventures with people I love, capturing special moments (in both pictures and words), and working on CreativeStay are some of my top methods of staying inspired day to day.

Lately, I’ve been seeing more beautiful mood boards (like this one) which got me thinking about new, more tactile ways of setting a tone or aesthetic within the constraints of my post-collegiate life (read: no space for boards and no printer!). So what I ended up doing was creating mood boards with the full intention of wiping the slate clean a day or two after making them. Below are a few of my favorites.

This all sort of happened by accident. I spotted some lovely plants on my way home from work one day, and snuck a few leaves. When I got home, I flipped to a new, blank page in my Moleskine and started grabbing random art supplies and memories that seemed to suit each other. I call this one Summer Vibes.

It was an interesting internal process to see how my feelings in the moment of making manifested themselves into an aesthetic. This mood board involved a lot more fragrant lavender and sentiment.

This board felt like my most cathartic one to date. The bold colors, black & white prints and glitter all felt like they expressed an energy I was feeling.

If you’re interested in trying this technique, I recommend establishing a time of day –mornings before the day begins work best for me– and at that time, grabbing an empty sketchbook or poster board, whatever you prefer. Start grazing your art supplies and home for things that click. Throw them on the page. For bonus points, find some petals or plants to throw on there too.

I found the process of creating this post immensely inspirational. Being resourceful and pulling together random materials feels exciting and liberating when there is no final, “forever” product. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Plus, you can incorporate things that you don’t want to glue down (read: glitter) and mementos you hold close. I hope you find ways to allow yourself to be creative today– and I can’t wait to see what the next iteration of these mood boards turns out to be.

xo,

T