I am retired and have a lot of time to research.  Balloons, miniatures, wood carving - so many things available on the net that my day could be full just looking.  Here comes the problem.  This morning I was looking at Nippy99's reviews and saw how a Quick Link balloon could be used for bodies and also there was a great reindeer.  I tucked it into the back of my mind to play with sometime.  When that time comes, I will not likely remember where I saw it nor whose idea it was.  I do know that a lot of people are playing with this type of balloon right now and all kinds of interesting ideas are coming from that.  So, if i make a similar balloon creation to the reindeer I saw today, I should give credit and would be happy to.  However it isn't even half an hour since I saw that review and I already cannot remember who did the original.  I know that I am a copy artist.  I know that I have seen most of the ideas I use somewhere on the internet or this forum.  How do I give credit where it's deserved when I simply can't remember who to give credit to.  I ALWAYS say that this is not my own design and it came from someone else but is that enough?  I can't buy every dvd I see to cover all the ideas and have all the originals for the techniques I use.  This subject has been discussed, debated and talked about to the point that we have all heard enough.  I don't believe in piracy, so if you see your idea in something I create, please, please forgive me.  It is not intentional theft.

I am very similar Millie. Most of the things I make are a result of my researching designs and looking at PDFs or DVDs. Where I can remember a name I use it but do often state that element a were used from a number of designs.
I have seen a number of people include a statement in their comment that says that if anyone knows the original artist then feel free to add or claim the design.
I think the issue of stealing comes when people claim a design as being their own original work on forums or facebook, pages that are specifically for balloon twisters. It seems accepted that credit is not necessary for a design when you place an image on your website as a showcase of what you can do (provided it is a picture of something you have actually made) because most people wld not know who particular balloon artists are in this case.
I am sure others will chime in with their views on this much discussed and sometimes heated debate.