With so many things in digital form nowadays, sometimes I forget how wonderful it is to surround myself with inspiration in real life. And with the seasons on the cusp of changing, I thought it would be fun to gather some inspiration in physical form to help get excited for Fall. If you’re craving some beauty for your own home office and want to take an hour or so this weekend to get creative, a mood board is the perfect project!

Prior to becoming an illustrator, I used to design clothing and one of my favorite parts of creating a new collection each season was gathering beautiful imagery and fabrics into a mood board. It was the most creative and freeing part of the process. I loved pulling together fresh inspiration and developing a new color palette.

During my Parsons design school days, I would tear out pages from all my favorite fashion magazines, sometimes even framing the editorial photoshoots to decorate my dorm. It’s been a loooonng time since I collected physical images (for a real trip down memory lane checkout this post from my old blog) but I thought it would be fun to start a seasonal mood board again.

First up: gather your supplies. I found a pretty linen covered pinboard online but you could use something simpler like foam core board or even get crafty and cover a piece of sturdy cork board in fabric. Upgrading your pins really help to make things feel extra fancy. I found these cute little wooden pins on Etsy. You’ll also need some photo paper, a printer, and pair of scissors. In addition to photos, you can also include little clippings of pretty ribbon or fabric, dried flowers, found objects and anything that you feel would add texture and interest to your mood board.

Next up: collect pretty images. While I still have big binders of old Vogue magazine tears stored away (I can’t bear to part with them haha!), this time around I flipped through photos I took on my phone and printed out images I found on Pinterest. I didn’t hold back when it came to subject matter and included all types of things that I felt spoke to my personal style but also reflected the colors and vibe of the season. I think it’s fun to mix up the inspiration sources from fashion to decor to nature to costume dramas. You’re essentially just making a Pinterest board in real life! =)

Now it’s time to print out all your images and cut around the edges. I printed everything on matte paper because I didn’t have any glossy photo paper on hand but I think either will work fine. You can leave a skinny white border around your photos or trim them right to the edge.

After cutting everything out, have fun arranging the images so they relate to and compliment each other. For instance, group similar subject matter together or arrange the colors to connect and flow into one another. Once you like how the layout looks, get pinning! I’m excited to add more inspiration throughout the season, especially once the leaves begin to turn and fall from the trees in our local park. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for an extra pretty leaf or two to add to my board!

If you end up creating a seasonal mood board to spruce up your home office or studio space, I’d love to see it! Share it on Instagram and tag me @joannabaker in the comments so I can see your pretty fall inspiration. Happy mood boarding!

xoxo,