In the corner of our bedroom sits my little office.
And one of my absolute favourite things in this corner is my wire mood board.
I love gathering together pictures, cards, little notes and drawings from my girls. Sitting on my bed and looking up at this collection always made me smile.
I don't get round to changing it as much as I'd like but I use it to help me come up with ideas and inspiration.
If I take a picture I am really proud of, I clip it on the board and this helps boost my confidence. If there's a place I'd like to visit, I'll add a picture too so the idea is never too far from my mind.
I'm also a big believer that by writing things down you have a clearer focus and get more done. It's the same with pictures.
So as we begin 2018 I've updated my board and I have some ideas if you want to create your own.
1. Wire Mood Board - The board itself is a great modern take on the cork pinboard. It's made by Block Design and is available from Amazon or Black By Design.
2. Quotes - Kikki.K do great quote cards perfect for attaching to boards. I've also recently discovered personalised gift wrap. Instead of using it to wrap presents, I've personalised the paper with my own quote 'Seek the Light, Take the Picture' and added it to my board. The gift wrap is by a lovely new company called Prettygifted.co.uk and the Quote cards are by Kikki.K
3. Photos - I really learned the hard way a few weeks ago when my main external back-up hard drive just simply failed. I'm still trying to figure out how to save the data which includes a huge stash of photos of my girls. So printing for me is more important than ever. I've just tried a company, based in the UK called Inkifi. They have an app and produce these wonderful photostrip prints (as seen below). They are well priced and have a range of other high quality products.
4. Inspiring pictures - I'm always keeping an eye out for pictures that inspire me and I collect these together for my board. It could be an image that has great composition or that evokes an emotion. Having great pictures on my board helps me learn, makes me work harder and keeps me passionate about photography.
5. Places to go - I really want to go on holiday in 2018 and keep getting drawn back to stunning Fjords of Norway. The main picture on my mood board is taken in the Fjord town of Olden. Both of my girls and my husband are sitting beside the lake with snow capped mountains in the distance. It was a really special trip and having this picture on my board is not only a lovely reminder of a great holiday but it's a reminder to book another one!
6. Children's Drawings - I just love to wake up and look at drawings by my girls. Alice (3) is just learning to draw faces and each new picture is an amusing, quirky treasure!
7. Hanging Ornaments - In my case it's a palm tree as I just love palm trees. I've seen some mood boards with real hanging plants and this looks great - (see Pinterest for ideas). It adds a bit of colour and fun to the board.
8. Lights - Definitely not just for Christmas. Fairy lights are great for finishing off a mood board. In the evenings, if I am working at my desk or reading in bed, it adds a gentle warm light and cosy feel to our room.
I've also put together a board on Pinterest with more mood board inspiration. You can find it here.
