Layout Inspiration: 99 Challenges

Are you in a rut and looking for something to get you motivated or are you just looking for some new ideas to try? Here are 99 challenges to help you get going:

1. Create a layout using the color scheme of red, black, and cream.
2. Hand-cut a flower or other image from patterned paper and use it on your layout.
3. Use three butterflies on your layout. You can use butterfly embellishments, stickers, stamps, or die-cut them yourself.
4. Cut flowers from fabric scraps that you find around the house and use them on a layout.
5. Cut or paper-piece fish from patterned paper and use them on a layout having something to do with swimming.
6. Make a layout about your car.
7. Use the colors of the rainbow on your layout: red, orange, yellow, green, blue,  indigo, violet. Use one embellishment in each color.
8. Make a layout about your iPod or MP3 player; include a copy of your favorite play-list.
9. Make a layout about someone else's iPod or MP3 player; include a copy of a favorite play-list (if they let you see it).
10. Make a top 10 list.
11. Take a used tea bag (still wet) and use it to stain your paper.  Use that on a layout. If you don't drink tea, try a used coffee filter instead.
12. Stamp some images, color them in with water colors, cut them out, and use them on a card.
13. What colors are your kitchen counters, cabinets, appliances, and floors? Use these four colors in a layout.
14. Make a layout without using any black. Journal with a colored pen.
15. Make a layout using scraps from 15 different patterned papers.
16. Make a card with a light blue and brown color scheme.
17. Tell a story in your journaling using a combination of sticker words, sticker alphabets, and your own handwriting.
18. Doodle on your layout using four or more different colors of pens.
19. Take a photo on an angle and use it that way on your layout.
20. Punch circles, cut them in half, and use them for a scalloped edge.
21. Make a layout about a boy or man using all pastel colors.
22. Make a layout about a girl or woman using dark blue, dark brown, and dark red.
23. Use holiday papers (Christmas, Easter, or Halloween) to make a layout about something other than that holiday.
24. Make a layout using only white cardstock, stamps, embellishments, and doodling (no patterned paper or colored cardstock).
25. Use black cardstock for the background of your layout and journal with a gold or silver pen.
26. Exaggerate. Use real photos and made-up or exaggerated journaling to tell a story that obviously isn't true (but is much more interesting).
27. Use photo-editing software to make new photos and use them in a layout. For example, put your head on a super-model's.
28. Use coins on a layout; adhere them with glue-dots. Foreign coins are a great embellishment for layouts about international travel.
29. Make a layout about the economy and the current situation. Journal your thoughts so that people in the future can understand.
30. Make a layout about an election and how you felt about it.
31. Make a layout with a lime green, tangerine, and turquoise color scheme.
32.  Make a layout with a blue, orange, and ivory color scheme.
33. Cut a photo into a large oval and use it as the primary photo on a multi-photo layout.
34. Make a layout with the title, "When life gives you lemons..."
35. Make a birthday card with the color scheme of pink, red, and black. Make sure you use a ribbon on the card.
36. Use five different ribbons on a layout.
37. Use the image from this productas an inspiration for a layout.
38. Make a layout using four or more different shades of red. Try not to use any other color, except a black pen.
39. Make a layout using only black-and-white photos and only black and white products; then add one single embellishment in a bright color.
40. Make a layout using thissketch.
41. Scraplift thislayout.
42. Make a row of buttons all the way across your layout; use all different sizes and colors.
43. Use rhinestones on your layout instead of brads.
44. Make a layout about your children's toys. Get an actual toy such as a Lego or Pokemon card and adhere it to the layout. Don't forget to get your child's permission first.
45. Make a layout with nine flowers with button centers.
46. Make a layout with 16 or more photos and hand journaling.
47. Next time you have a memorable meal at a restaurant, take photos and make a layout about it. Include why it was memorable in the journaling.
48. Next time you have dinner guests, take a picture of everyone sitting around the table and make a layout about it. Match the color scheme to your dishes.
49. Use a large photo that takes up more than half your layout and put it all the way in a corner.
50. Mix and match old letter stickers to make your title, with each letter from a different font.
51. Make a chain of paper clips and use it on a layout.
52. Crochet a small doily and use it as an embellishment.
53. Use your favorite coffee cup as inspiration for a card or layout.
54. Scan a newspaper clipping and print out a new copy on acid-free paper. Use it on a layout.
55. Use your corner rounder to round three corners of each photo on your layout. Round three corners of your paper as well.
56. Make a layout with bird embellishments. If you have bird patterned paper, use that as well.
57. Make a layout with the color scheme of dark blue, light blue,  and dark pink.
58. Use raw chipboard and keep it raw.
59. Make a template using punches. Then use the template to paint a design on your background paper.
60. Use decorative scissors to cut whimsical circles and layer them to make an embellishment.
61. Make a layout with a purple, black, and blue color scheme.
62. Make a card with an orange, pink, and white color scheme.
63. Use charms on a layout. Look herefor ideas.
64. Try heat embossing. Hereare some instructions.
65. Mix and match stripes and plaids (on your layout, not your outfit).
66. Make a birthday card with balloons. Use wire to make the balloon strings.
67. Use wire to make a vine on your layout. Tie small pieces of ribbon to it.
68. Make a layout using only patterned paper, no cardstock.
69. Tear strips of blue papers and layer them to make ocean waves. Mix different shades of blue including solids and patterns.
70. Make a green and red layout that has nothing to do with Christmas.
71. Make a title using decorative hand lettering. Learn how here.
72. Divide your layout down the middle. Make each side the mirror image of the other side, but in a different color.
73. Use rub-on flourishes across your photos.
74. Use four or more photos on a layout, overlapping them to form a staircase shape.
75. Make a layout using this sketchfor inspiration. Then make a card from the same sketch.
76. Next time you finish a product in a plastic jar (like peanut butter), run the jar through the dishwasher, and alter it. Use it to store embellishments.
77. Use your favorite movie quote on a layout.
78. Use a phrase from "The Wizard of Oz" on your layout. Here are some ideas:
    • Somewhere Over the Rainbow
    • Ding, Dong! The Witch Is Dead
    • We Wish to Welcome You to Munchkinland
    • If I Only Had a Brain
    • Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! 
79. Make a layout with the title "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
80. Print a photo on vellum and use it as the background for your layout.
81. Take a picture of your feet or your shoes and use it on a layout.
82. Use nail polish on chipboard.
83. Make your own embellishments using another craft such as knitting, quilting, needlepoint, or crochet.
84. Make a layout with only boys or men in the photos. Use pink and orange on the layout.
85. Use only cream, white, and one other color on a layout. No black, except in the photos.
86. Make a layout about a TV show that has somehow affected your life.
87. Doodle on your layout with Stickles. Go crazy with them!
88. Cut strips using decorative scissors and use them as stripes across your layout.
89. Use five different shaped punches on a single layout.
90. Use five different stamps and five different inks on a layout.
91. Make a layout where everything - all the photos, embellishments, and pieces of patterned paper - are circles.
92. Next time you have a plumbing disaster, take some photos and do a layout about it.
93. Take a picture of some plants in your neighborhood and use them on a layout. Use flowers and leaves as embellishments.
94. Make a layout with the color scheme of dark blue, light blue, red, and white.
95. Cut 16 3" x 3" squares out of patterned papers and use them as grid across a piece of 12" x 12" cardstock. Create the rest of your layout on top of this background.
96. Recycle your scraps by using them to make a layout about something you do to protect the environment. Use the word "green" in your title.
97. Use nine different ribbons and nine different buttons on a layout.
98. Make a layout about a door. Be creative.
99. Make a list of 99 things you like about someone and use the list on a layout.

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