I don't mind overlapping inside the grid as long as I can still see the grid. So, on my page you can see grid line that runs under the state outline. The contained in the grid would apply if you had a grid in the bottom quadrant, and then wanted to put a flower in the opposite corner. For this challenge, that wouldn't work. Does that clarify for you?
I loved the artsy bit in NBK's Carefree that looked like a piece of a grid so I duplicated it 5 times to make this grid - so fun!
The actual boxes contained within it don't have to be 3x3 - it's the entire grid that must be no less than 3x3, correct??