How to create a mood board in 5 simple steps
Mood boards are a great way to envision and plan a creative project, whether it's for personal use or professional use. Some of the most popular mood board themes are for celebration events like weddings, holidays or room makeovers. However, with no set rule to creating an inspiration board, they can seem daunting to make - but they don’t need to be.
Put simply, a mood board is a collage of pictures or other items that convey the overall look and feel of your project. Whether that's inspirational photos, colour palettes, visual metaphors, quotes, textures, patterns or anything else. They act as a guideline to keep you consistent with the style and aesthetic of your project.
Plus, Bostik offers a variety of stationery adhesives like Blu Glu stick, Glitter Glu pens and Removable Glu Dots that make the whole process easy, fun and satisfying – right from the start, to putting on the finishing touches.
Before you unleash your inner creativity and learn how to create a mood board, let's take a look at the essential Bostik glues you'll need to stick your inspiring items together.
A solid, blue glue stick
Bostik Blu Glu stick is a ready-to-use, easy-to-apply, high quality solid glue stick. It is a blue glue stick which dries clear, so you can see where you're sticking, helping you to glue more efficiently and avoid any mess without leaving a visible mark on your craft project.
Blu Glu stick is perfect for use on most paper-based materials including card, paper, crepe, tissue paper, photographs as well as fabrics like felt and cotton. It is UKCA and CE approved, odourless and solvent-free so it’s brilliant for adults and children alike.
- Recommended mood board use: Use to glue photos, colour swatches, fabric swatches and other paper-based items to your board.
Coloured glitter glue pens
Bostik Glitter Glu pens are a collection of six fine-tipped glitter glues in blue, pink, red, green, gold and silver. They are expertly designed as the convenient, mess-free alternative to regular, loose glitter as the flakes of glitter are suspended inside the glue.
Thankfully, with our glitter glue pens there's no need to sweep up the sparkles that get absolutely everywhere and take months to disappear. Our glitter glue pens have a precision nozzle so you can control where the glitter is applied for a neat finish - they're the best glitter glue for a tidy craft space!
- Recommended mood board use: Use to add sparkle to your mood board background, pictures and other items by outlining or filling shapes, writing words, drawing fancy borders and lots more.
Removable glue dots
Bostik Glu Dots, also commonly known as sticky dots and glue spots, are available in two types: removable glue dots and extra strong. Bostik Removable Glu Dots are clear, double-sided sticky dots on sheets that stick to almost anything but can be removed if necessary. Bostik Extra Strong Glu Dots are a more permanent solution.
- Recommended mood board use: Both types of Bostik Glu Dots stick to paper, wood, plastic, metal, glass and painted surfaces. They’re easy-to-use and mess free, plus they’re acid and lignin-free and non-yellowing, so they’re ideal for attaching your photos to your inspiration board.
How to make a mood board
Now that you have your essential kit of glues ready to go, you need to gather your materials that will feature in your mood board.
Depending on which mood board theme you are creating, it will determine which items you need. We recommend key inspiration images from magazines and newspapers, or postcards, paint and fabric swatches, new and vintage photographs, catalogue images, dried flowers and leaves, feathers, pieces of paper craft and more – whatever appeals to you.
Everything you need to make a mood board:
- Blu Glu stick
- Glitter Glu
- Removable Glu Dots
- A2 foamboard, 5mm thick – white or coloured
- Main ‘inspiration image’ that provides the key colours and mood for the project
- Smaller images & other desired craft items - please refer to our list below
Optional craft items for your mood board:
- Cut-outs from magazines, newspapers and catalogues or postcards
- Paint and fabric swatches
- Photographs (including vintage ones)
- Dried flowers and leaves
- Feathers
- Pieces of papercraft
Tacky's tip: Some of the best mood boards are those that are personal to you. There is no right or wrong to what you find inspiration from. Simply follow your heart and let your creative juices flow!
Step 1: Create your mood board
Choose a piece of foam board, perhaps a coloured one – A2 is a good size for a mood board.
Step 2: Choose your main image
Start with an important image that sums up the atmosphere that you want to achieve with the mood board.
Turn it over and apply Blu Glu stick in a line, close to the edges of the paper.
Tacky's tip: The blue colour of our glue stick will stop you from going over the edge of the paper and ensure you have even coverage for a long-lasting bond. Remember, Blu Glu stick dries clear so it won't be visible once it has dried!
Step 3: Add more photos
Choose other important images and arrange them around the DIY mood board until you are happy with the layout. Then use Blu Stick to glue them into place.
Step 4: Add your craft items
Now it’s time to add the detail with your other items. Simply attach your Removable Glu Dots to the back of your items and press into place on the mood board.
Tacky's tip: It can be hard to arrange them all at once but relax, Removable Glu Dots allow you to arrange and rearrange your inspirations - add and take away items as you feel best.
Step 5: Decorate with glitter
Finally, decorate your inspiration board with some sparkle using glitter glue pens. Choose from our six colours that echo the look of your board.
Gently squeeze the glitter glue pens to apply sparkle to the board itself and to highlight particular details or images. And that’s it, you’re done! You’ve now learnt how to create a moodboard in 5 simple steps.
Tacky's tip: When you've finished, wipe the nozzle clean and replace the cap to stop your glitter glues from drying out.
Time to clean up
For full cleaning information, please refer to the technical data sheets for Blu Glu stick, Removable Glu Dots and Glitter Glu.
Bostik offers a wide range of stationery and craft adhesives so no matter how complicated your next craft project may be, there's a stationery glue at hand to help.
Plus, if you're looking for some craft inspiration you can browse our blog and filter #CraftWithBostik for all Bostik arts and crafts ideas.
