Have you ever sat and browsed Pinterest for hours? I have! I see all these amazing ideas, pin and like, and wish I had the time/money/materials/etc. to do all those things.

I often have to stop and remind myself that I can’t do everything that’s on Pinterest, and it’s not there to tell me what I have to do. It’s a place of inspiration. Don’t let Pinterest think for you.

That being said, definitely use Pinterest as a starting block if you’re stuck and need an idea.

My aunts are in town this week, and we had a great day of card-making yesterday. They were awesome and pre-cut some beautiful papers and such to put together certain card looks.

We got our feet wet and followed their examples to make our cards, but after a bit, mom and I started getting antsy. Since we like to think outside the box as much as possible, we used the basic idea of one of my aunt’s cards, and started creating our own versions.

Here is her beautiful example card:

Here is our variety of interpretations:

created by mom, grandma, my aunts, and me

Another striking card example:

Here are our playful versions:

created by mom, grandma, and my aunts

Here’s a great earthy idea:

Our even more varied:

created by my aunts and me

If you see an idea on Pinterest or wherever, you can copy it exactly if that helps you get your creative juices flowing. As you keep going, even the same shapes and stamps can create very different variations on a similar theme.

Even if you don’t have the same tools and colors to create something exactly as you see it, you can use the resources you have available to you and use the picture you saw as a launching point. You are creative. You can take someone else’s idea for a card or other creative outlet and transform it into your own.