Never quit using your own imagination though. I tie with almost anything I get dirt cheap or on sale somewhere. I have learned from other guys about using materials that I never thought of.

When trying something completely new tie only a few. Let the fish be the ultimate judge. No matter how pretty it looks if it don't catch fish it is not of use to me. If it catches fish it don't matter how ugly it is.

For example I guy I used to ice fish with started tying tiny little jig with balloon remnants on them. Probably one of the first guys to use plastics under the ice.
They devastated the fish here in Ohio. His jigs had almost nothing on them except strips of the cut balloon mounted on 1/100 or 1/120 oz jigs.
I would have never thought of this. He has long since passed. But every now and then I see an article about ice fishing and they hail it as if they invented it. I kinda smile to myself and wonder if Ol Barry is reading the same stuff up there.