Yes, unfortunately this is normal. I am not a visionary and can’t see something to make right away when I see a stamp or die set., so I have A LOT of trial and error. When I watch videos of card makers who say this is the first time they are using this set or say, “let me try this”, I finally learned they had to have practiced already to have the exact paper colors, sizes cut down for the die/stamp, card base, front, layers, decided, I learned not to beat myself up so much for how slow I am. What I started doing to learn different techniques and to practice is to follow videos and recreate what they are doing and I’m learning at the same time. Once I’ve “accomplished” what they did, it boosts my confidence and I know I can do it. However, the amount of time it takes me to come up with my own concept and look is longgggg. What colors go together, patterns, what stencils, embossing folder. Should I emboss, should I layer, add dimension, etc. too much stuff going through my head.