Spinoff - What about completing projects?

[MacSarah]

I can start projects just fine, I am great at starting.  But finishing them is a whole other story.  While I have layouts that are not complete, this is not limited to just scrapbooking for me.  Sometimes it is a matter of finding the right piece to complete it (size, shape, color), or a time issue (something stopped me midstream and I haven't gotten back to it), or a focus issue (something that requires a detailed journalling).  Sometimes I don't like my work midstream, and I keep thinking looking at it with fresh eyes will help, but I rarely go back to those.  How do you make it to the finish line?

[koala1966]

LOL, I have the same problem. Half-finished albums, mostly, but occsionally half-finished pages too. Every few months I sit down with a list of what's not finished and just power through it. While listening to Eye of the Tiger, Rocky-style.

[sweetsour]

This is one of the reasons that I can not be one of those  "oh I have 15 mins I'll go down and scrap, and finish up later" type scrapper.  I have a drawer full of unfinished projects because of those attempts.   If I am interrupted, or stop, it takes a while to get back to the mojo with creativity flowing.  I have to go down fresh in the morning when I know there are no plans for later, so I can just go nuts!
But even then I have been frustrated about "finishing" a page to the point of leaving pages to go back with fresh eyes.  I think we've all been there. 
Sometimes it works, when you go back and say "oh yea it just needs..."  and it's perfect.
But other times it just seems there's nothing more that than can be done, and it might actually be fine just the way it is,  so I either stick it down and leave it like that, or it just doesn't work and I dismantle and start from scratch.
My point is (too late for long story short??)   I found changing the way and the when of how I scrap helped me complete more, I hope you can find what works for you Sarah!


 

[blbabe1234]

LOL, I have the same problem. Half-finished albums, mostly, but occsionally half-finished pages too. Every few months I sit down with a list of what's not finished and just power through it. While listening to Eye of the Tiger, Rocky-style.
 

I like your list idea!

[DolphinSoul]

I have to complete a layout from start to finish. I cannot have any unfinished layouts, it would drive me mad. But I have tons of Unfinished albums because we will travel somewhere else and I want to scrap those instead! But I make sure that I have a regular photo album packed with the photos sitting with the scrapbook album so they still go together. Not just a few pages and nothing else to follow it.

[Scrap Bug]

I don't have a problem with this and scrapbooking, for some reason.  I do tend to finish my scrapbook projects.  My problem is with everything else.  LOL  You name it.  Home improvement, gardening, other crafts - I'm a procrastinator on those.  I start off with a bang and then fizzle.

[scrappinmom99]

My biggest hurdle is getting started, not finishing. I can really take a whole week to do 1 layout in 5-10 minutes here and there. I work at home, so whenever I take an eyeball break from the computer, I poke around the scrap area lol.

[Berta R.]

Getting stared is my problem too.  However when I do work on a page I have to finish it before I start another one.  But I almost always walk away from it for a few minutes before gluing everything down.  Not sure why because I usually don't  change anything. 

[Flasher]

I never start a new project until the one I'm working on is finished.  I'm that way across the board -- with house stuff, holiday stuff, work stuff, craft stuff.  I just can't do it.  I can't have anything in life unfinished, especially by choice!!

[Shutterbug]

LOL, I have the same problem. Half-finished albums, mostly, but occsionally half-finished pages too. Every few months I sit down with a list of what's not finished and just power through it. While listening to Eye of the Tiger, Rocky-style.

 That is a great idea. Will have to try it.

[Queen Mum]

Most definitely. 

I don't start a layout until the last one is page protector ready. 

I seldom have projects left undone.  

I do have a round wall hanging quilt that isn't done because I was making it for my daughter (It's beautiful and a complicated pattern) But she said they weren't her colors - so there it sits.   About 10 years now
 

[MacSarah]

LOL, I have the same problem. Half-finished albums, mostly, but occsionally half-finished pages too. Every few months I sit down with a list of what's not finished and just power through it. While listening to Eye of the Tiger, Rocky-style.
 

I like your list idea!

I should make a list and see if that helps me get some of them done. 

[killarney_rose]

.... Sometimes I don't like my work midstream, and I keep thinking looking at it with fresh eyes will help, but I rarely go back to those......

This part of your post is me!  I don't have issues with any of the other points you brought up so I don't have any suggestions for you!

This month for me has been particularly bad on the midstream problem.  On every layout but my one PL layout I choked big time.  I have a tendency of walking away and leaving it on my table to solve the problem in my head and finish it.  Not saying that will work for you but you might try it.  I rarely put one up and start another.  Even the double pager I hoped to get done for NSD needed some adjusting after I first photographed it.  I still don't like it....but it's done and I'm in that state of what I wrote about it when I posted it early this am.  I'm done, it's in the album....move on.

So where am I with this very same problem your having.  I have numbers crunching in my head due to assigning number values to what might be a solvable solution so I can move and get to 15-20 layouts a month without burdening myself and becoming sick of what I love.  Been thinking about it since I woke up at 11am.  Honestly I have to say I'm going back to sketches and scraplifting....become totally reliant on them for the next couple of months to get my confidence back.  This month has pretty much shattered my confidence in my feeling I really am a creative person.

I only currently have two unfinished layouts both more than a year since starting them.  One I needed to find the sketch again.....and feel pretty stupid that I just needed to go to my gallery and see it's companion page.  One of those typical things I like to do to individual layouts for a double page spread.  The other layout has no real fixing to it.  Just muddle through and put it in James' album.  ....sigh....need to leave that alone after this month for a while longer!

I end my response to you with this pearl of wisdom!  One is never alone in this world with our self imposed trials and tribulations.  But in sharing those trials and tribulations we as a community can help lift each other by just sharing as you did with me.  For that I thank you and I don't feel so alone right now in my own self imposed scrapping nightmare.  And please understand I'm not meaning you at all!  My thoughts where I am has been driving me nuts for the last two weeks!  Thank you for letting me unload!!!