Pinterest is a great place to organize and find inspiration for your ideas based on themes. Maybe you’re thinking about sprucing up your home or office with new wallpaper or DIY home decor. Parties and the holidays are also great reasons to get creative in the details. Below we show you how to set up a free Pinterest account and start pinning those ideas down for your next great project. 

Note: This post has been updated in 2023 to reflect changes in Pinterest.

Spoonflower "DIY Party Ideas" mood board with description text reading " DIY inspiration for unique, handmade gatherings. Everything from handmade party invitations and party favors to DIY party decor and crafts. Guests will never forget the custom decorations you create! #diyparty #party #diy #create #tutorial #sewing #sew #celebrate #partyplanning #weddingplanner #plan" Beneath are pins for party ideas and inspiration.
Capturing inspiration in a mood board like this allows you to corral all your ideas in one place.

Why Should You Create a Pinterest Mood Board?

A mood board is a creative exercise to organize ideas into one place and focus on a theme. Collecting photos, quotes and videos on a single board provides a visual to your concept. It can also keep you motivated and help guide your project from start to finish.

Is a Mood Board the Same as a Vision Board?

Not necessarily. A mood board can be a great help for a specific project or design, like redoing a bedroom or creating a collection of patterns with a ‘70s theme. It helps keep things in focus. A vision board can be a helpful way to envision a goal you want to achieve—like moving or starting a career. 

The process to creating a mood board and a vision board are similiar. They both can be created using the steps below, and tweaked for your intended outcome, large or small! 

How Do You Find A Theme?

Your theme may be closer than you think. The best way to decide on a theme is to think about the type of project you are planning to start. What words come to mind related to the project? What colors? This will help you start looking into the elements and details you’d like to incorporate in your work.  

With your idea and the internet at your fingertips, you can begin by finding images that compliment your budding theme. And where could you save and organize all of these great things? A Pinterest mood board!  

What Tools Do You Need To Create a Pinterest Mood Board?

A Pinterest account; a mobile phone, tablet or computer to connect to Pinterest; and an idea!

How Much Time Will It Take?

As much time as your project (or creativity!) allows.

What Are the Steps to Create a Pinterest Mood Board?

Pinterest Home Page with log in pop up window asking for email and password or options to continue with Facebook or Google.
After clicking “log in” or “sign up” on Pinterest, expect to see this page to enter your account.

1. Log Into Your Account.

Go to Pinterest and click the button in the far right corner to “log in” or “sign up” for an account. 

Once you’ve entered your email and password, go to your profile page. To do this, look for a circle to the top far right. When you hover you mouse over it, it should say “your profile.” 

Image of a Pinterest Profile page including account name, account handle, bio, follower and following count, monthly views, and mood board previews.
Spoonflower’s Pinterest account. Notice to the far right, the plus sign, which can be used to create a pin or board.
White rectangle with a header saying “Create board,” along with a type-in box to enter a name for the board, a click box to keep optionally “keep this board a secret” and a button to create the board.
This “Create Board” window will pop up after you select the plus sign on the far right side of your profile and select “pin.”

2. How to Create a Pinterest Board.

Once you’re on your profile page, click the plus sign (+) to the far right. Give your board a name and you’re good to go!  

Image of an arm removing wallpaper from a wall with image details to the left and a drop-down option to save the post to a Pinterest board.
Once you’ve found an image you want to add to a board, save it by clicking the red button.

3. How to Pin Images to Your Board.

It’s time to start pinning! Circle back to those questions we mentioned earlier and put your answers in the Pinterest search bar. This will prompt the site to bring up related “pins.” 

When you find a pin you like, hover over it and click “save.” If you have more than one mood board, make sure you’re saving pins to the correct board. Your most recently used board should be at the top of your list.

To create a pin, fill out this information and make sure to select what board you would like it to be placed.
Image of a "1 bedroom 2 ways” header in a Pinterest pin with Spoonflower account link, a note to “shop these designs and more in our Fall lookbook!” and a link to the lookbook and image to be used as a visual pin.
What a completed created pin looks like before pressing publish to add it to your board.

4. How to Pin Images You Find Outside of Pinterest.

If you find something outside of Pinterest that’s perfect for your board, you can add it to Pinterest by creating a pin for it. To create a pin, follow the same steps you took above to create a board, except select “Create a Pin.” Click the option to “Save from Site” and enter the web address. You will be prompted to select the images related to the link you want to use and can add a title and description. Select the board you’d like to add this pin to and publish.  

Pro Tip:

You can save images you’ve found online to your Pinterest board once you add the “Pinterest Save” extension to your browser. With this extension you can pin images, webpages, tutorials and more on your mood board with ease.
Idea Pins help group multiple pieces of content in one place. Visit our blog for to see Joni Lay’s whimsical party tablescape.

5. How to Add Idea Pins

Idea Pins are a great and unique way to share inspiration. They are multi-page links in one pin that further group an idea together. They’re similar to Instagram Story Highlights, in that they include multiple pictures or videos as one piece of content. With that being said, when you save an Idea Pin you must save the entire video or photo compilation, not just one section. Learn how to create Idea Pins here

Image of layered patterned bedding in various shades of red, yellow, and blue. Spoonflower logo and the title “The Spoonflower Guide to Mixing Patterns” are above the bed with the description “Learn 5 steps you can take to mix patterns like a professional from Spoonflower’s Senior Manger of Merchandising Emerson Jones.”
To delete an unwanted pin click the drop-down menu beside the pin’s image and select “Edit pin.” 
White box titled “edit this pin” with drop-down options for the desired board and section and a text box for notes to self. Pin is to the right with buttons to “delete”, “cancel”, or “save” the pin’s edits.
Click the “delete” button in the bottom left corner.

6. How to Delete Unwanted Pins.

Not all pins make the final cut—and that’s okay. At first when you create a mood board, it can be helpful to pin lots of ideas! However, for some projects once you’re past the ideation stage, you might want to pare things down. If you see that you need to remove some pins it’s pretty easy. Click on the pin you want to remove and select “edit pin”. To the bottom left of the window you can click “delete”. Warning, once you’ve deleted a pin, it cannot be undone.

Spoonflower Pinterest board titled “Design Challenge Winners”. Below the title is the Spoonflower Profile photo with a cirlced plus sign beside it and a teal arrow pointing to the plus sign. This is followed by the description of the design challenge. Below this description are the pins of the design challenge artist submissions.
Spoonflower’s Design Challenge Winners board showcases designs by indie designers. Each week for a month designers give their take on a designated theme where voters chose the winner. Vote on the current challenges here.

7. How to Invite Collaborators to Your Pinterest Board.

Do you have a friend that always has great suggestions for your projects? You can invite them to collaborate and view your mood boards. Go to your profile page and select your desired board. Right below the board’s title, you will see your account icon with a plus sign beside it. You can invite collaborators by sharing the link or searching their name and email address if they have a Pinterest account. 

You’re all set to start pinning ideas and getting those great projects off the ground! Be sure to follow your favorite accounts like Spoonflower for inspiration, videos and the latest guides.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I use a Pinterest mood board?  
Creating a mood board can help creators organize their ideas for a project in a visual way. 
How do I organize my Pinterest mood boards?
Once you’ve added pins to a board you can organize them by reordering them or placing them in sections based on your needs. 
How do you add content not on Pinterest to your board? 
You can pin images from the internet to your board by adding the “Pinterest Save” extension to your browser. You can also create a pin for the desired content using the steps outlined above. 
What’s the difference between a pin and a board? 
A board is where you store all of your saved pins. Think of it as a drive or a folder. A pin is the content you want to save and organize within the board. 

Need Help Finding Inspiration for Pinterest?

If you’re hitting a creative block and need to step out into the world for inspiration, Spoonflower artist Jeanetta Gonzales shares ideas of places to go and things to do to get those creative juices flowing.
Get Inspired