After a week of trying, I finally came up with a new layout, which I have now posted. If you can’t see it, you may need to refresh the page.

You may notice that I no longer list affiliates in my sidebar—I have decided that I don’t want to have affiliates anymore. I don’t like how I am not close with many of my affiliates, and there are others who I know better but who are not my affiliates. I just don’t see the point, so I will no longer be participating in the affiliation “program”. Old affiliates can remove my link if they prefer; there will be no hard feelings.

I’m getting so sick of how so many website owners have been unoriginal in their layouts lately. I’ve seen several people copy Catherine’s style, specifically the scribbles she is currently using for header text backgrounds, and many people have attempted to copy Georgina’s unique typographic layout. I could name names, but I won’t.

I don’t understand why people feel the need to copy what others create. I can understand being inspired by other website layouts, but that does not mean that you should copy what they do. It’s sad to see that so many wonderful website owners let their own creativity be compromised by trying to copy someone else’s style.

When I set out to make this layout, I set out with the thought in mind that so many websites are starting to look the same, and that I wanted to make something unique. Even though I don’t copy others’ styles, I still wanted to experiment and push the envelope of what I was comfortable with. I wanted to make something that was like nothing I had ever tried before.

With that thought in mind, I created one or two different designs, but I didn’t like either of them. When I became discouraged, Georgina reminded me that since I wasn’t copying anyone, my new layout would be unique in SOME way no matter what. At that point, I stopped pressuring myself and just started playing with some of Photoshop’s custom shapes. I hadn’t even intended for it to turn into a layout, but here it is now!

The point is that if you don’t worry about trying to make an amazing layout and just let your creativity take you places, you will be able to create something that you love. There is no need to copy others, and there is no need to put pressure on yourself, which can lead to copying others’ designs.

If you are truly at a loss for inspiration, you could try following a tutorial (I sometimes refer to the tutorials at Spoon Graphics and Smiley Helper for inspiration), or even just listen to some of your favorite music.

Just please, please don’t copy. It’s boring for us all, and makes you look bad. I don’t mean to be offensive, but it’s the truth (at least to me), and if it offends you, I’m sorry.

I realize this blog might be a bit hard to comment on, so I’ll ask some questions. I would appreciate it if you would avoid only answering the questions, however.

• Where do you look for inspiration when you’re at a loss?
• What is the most annoying thing you have seen in the blogging world lately?