What Pinterests You?

When you're browsing the web and come across something you like, maybe it's home décor, do it yourself ideas, collectors' items, or even clothes and accessories, do you bookmark the page only to quickly forget you ever found it? Or maybe you have a stack of magazines with dog-eared pages of your favorite ideas, but when it comes time to start your project you can't seem to remember which magazine held your inspiration?

These are exactly the kind of problems pinterest.com can help you solve. The developers of this site have successfully created an online "pin board" that not only keeps all your inspiration and ideas in one place, but it allows you to link back to the source for easy access to more details when you need them. Not to mention how easy it is to see what inspires your friends, "pin" some of their ideas, and share your own.

Once you sign-up on pinterest.com, you can link it to other social networking sites you may be a member of (like Twitter and Facebook), and begin following all your friends. You will be given several pin boards with pre-selected categories that you can keep or customize to something better suited for you.

For example, one of the default pin boards is "For the Home" but maybe this is a little too broad for you. So you can rename it to something like "Kitchen Ideas," "Bedroom Designs," or "Office Organization" so you'll know exactly where to look when you're ready to tackle a project.

Not only is this a great tool for home décor, but photographers and designers will find it inspirational and helpful as well. Maybe you're a wedding photographer and you are looking for new inspiration for engagement sessions, bridal portraits, or something different to shoot on the wedding day. Pinterest has a lot of great sources for wedding inspiration; one of the users I follow even has a "She Said Yes" board to pin all wedding-related inspiration.

There are also so many great design prints that Pinterest users pin and re-pin. Many of them come from the designers' Etsy shops, while others are sourced from magazines, company websites, and personal photos.

So whether you're looking for inspiration or have some of your own to share, Pinterest is a site that can help you stay organized, inspired, and connected. They also have an iPhone app, if you want to pin on the go. Oh, and one last thing to remember: Pinterest requires an invite in order to sign-up; otherwise, you have to wait a few days for their administrators to approve your account.