Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Hello, My Name Is Kathryn ...

... and I am addicted to not finishing my scrapbook projects. Seriously. I just made a list and took pictures of every single unfinished project I had hanging around and/or things I needed to do in order to make some more progress in scrapping this year. The list is frighteningly long, and while some things could easily be finished in five minutes {which brings up the question of why they are not already finished} some will take much more work to bring to completion.

Here are just ten of the forty-one unfinished projects/necessary tasks I unearthed/wrote down Monday:

1. Hook up Epson R1900 to new computer so I can print photos. Should take about five minutes. Why isn't this done already? I blame Mr. Lifeguard. He is falling down on his tech support job.

2. Hook up Cricut to new computer so I can use my SCAL2 again. Also Mr. Lifeguard's fault as he claims the Cricut's cord is too short to reach to the new computer. I suppose I need to either buy a new cord or rearrange the scraproom. Will figure this out eventually.

3. Make a video of the Beachiversary mini albums. It arrived during the peak of Christmas kit season, so it is still in the box it arrived in. Shocking!



4. Take the 17 completed 12"x12"/12"x24" layouts I have sitting in a pile and put them into an album already, what the hell is wrong with me!? Why are these not in albums!? Hello!?



5. Take the 7 incomplete 12"x12"/12"x24" layouts and add photos/journaling/whatever and get those suckers into an album. Really. What is the problem here. It's not hard.



6. Figure out some kind of tag storage/display as all the tags I have received in swaps are still sitting in boxes waiting for a permanent home.



7. Stop joining swaps until I am caught up on everything. I need to clear out the old unfinished projects to make room for new unfinished projects.

8. Finish the last page/video in the "World of Wonder" mini album series. I don't know what I'll do with the album after that, but at least it will be in condition to sell, if I want to put it on eBay or whatever. Or I could put photos in it, whatever. Although that whole "whatever" thinking is probably what got me here!





9. Finish altering my box of wings. This was a box I got to put very small layouts in ~ a tiny photo, a little journaling, an embellishment or two. For the things I wanted to remember but were maybe too small for a whole layout. I still love the concept ~ just need to get 'er done!



10. Finish adding photos and journaling to the "Welcome Home" album. I only have one page left to do before it's done. It's just a matter of printing the photos and adding the journaling.







During my Monday Night Scrapping show, I pulled out another one of my many projects to finish ~ the Maya Road/Cosmo Cricket tree album. I'm calling it "Love Birds" and it is going to be a variety of pictures of Mr. Lifeguard and me. I'll be working on it over the next few UStreams & I think it's going to be a really cute one!







As for the rest of the inccomplete projects, here's a run down of the numbers:

1. 17 finished 12"x12"/12"x24" layouts which have photos, journaling, etc., that are just waiting to be put into albums. Counted as one item under the "album organization" heading. :D

2. 7 unfinished 12"x12"/12"x24" layouts which need photos, journaling or both before they can be put into an album.

3. 3 altered items. I have a box, a dressform and a canvas. The box is above & here's a look at the canvas. It would be gorgeous hanging on a wall all framed and decorated and pretty. It's not so awesome on my floor:



4. 30 {!} mini albums that need to be repaired, finished or have photos, journaling or both added. Some are my creations and some I received from swaps.

One of the things I realized going through everything is that not every project needs to be completed. Some of them could be salvaged for supplies {there are ones that I just don't know what I was thinking when I started them}, others could be turned into RAKs or gifts, some sold and then others can be kept for myself. Regardless of what is done with some of them, I have given myself permission to reduce the number. My goal isn't to stress myself out finishing everything, so much as it is to make final decisions about the fate of some items that I have been holding onto for a very long time & get them out of the unfinished projects bin and into their final home.

What do you think? Can I reduce this number drastically in the next six months? Already since I compiled the list I have repaired two mini albums to finish them off & so my total outstanding projects number is down from 41 to 39 at this point.

It's going to be long climb out of this hole, but once I get some stuff done I think I will be really happy. It will be nice to print photos, finish these layouts and minis & basically have completed albums or home decor. Plus, I can gain some more storage by clearing out the unfinished projects bin, which would be very nice.

So that's the goal ~ we'll see how it goes!

~Kathryn :D
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

18 comments:

  1. Hi Kathryn!
    I enjoyed reading this! You always bring a smile to my face.
    HUGS!
    Vangie

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  2. wow Kathryn! 39 still?! how can you even have space for them in your room?! some of them look not difficult to finish (just a few touches, a photo or an embellishment on it) but the longer projects as minis or altered art seem like they will be there for a long long time still ;D
    Maybe you could put a clean-up day each month in your blog (like you did with the 12th months of xmas) for the next year as a goal/resolution for 2011. That way hopefully at the end of the year, the pile of unfinished projects would be smaller.
    Or just send the ones without photos in a new kind of swap: finishing other people projects. fun and not boring at all! :DDD
    Hugs, Vron

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  3. Well Kathryn, they say the first step is admitting you have a problem.....and girl, you have a problem. LOL Easy for me to say, I have the same problem. :)

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  4. Oh I’m completely with you on finishing my unfinished projects!!! And why do we do this to ourselves lol. most of the stuff wont take much either…I’m bad about printing pictures too. I need to just start getting stuff printed and get the layouts done!!! I think you’ll have no problem finishing most of your stuff!! You can do it :) I wont be surprised if you get all of it done in the six months!!! Good luck!

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  5. I'm sure you'll get there in the end. The great thing is you've already started and as you said don't stress yourself. Bit by bit you'll be finished. Good Luck !

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  6. Aw, Vangie! Thank you so much ~ I feel the same way about you, girlfriend!

    Veronica, luckily they don't take up much space as they are small projects ~ maybe that is part of the problem! They are out of sight, out of mind!

    Yes, Karen, we have taken the first step. Now we just need to get to work! :D And then work to make sure this doesn't happen again.

    Tara, my biggest problem is printing pictures, too. That is what most of these projects are waititng for & I could knock so many of them out in such a short time if I just sat down and dealt with my photos.

    You are absolutely right, Tatanky. I need to not stress myself about this, beause the more I turn this into a chore the less likely I am to actually work on them. So I need to remain calm & keep it fun!

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  7. I think staying calm and acting like an adult is the wrong way to go about this. If it were me, I would throw a majorly huge tantrum, pulling my hair out and shredding these projects into tiny pieces. Haul the entire mess to the backyard and burn them up in a trash bin while dancing naked and singing Neil Diamond hits at the top of my lungs.
    Most likely will get you arrested and the number one spot on Youtube for a couple of days but at least you will have a clean slate to start up with... :)

    Just an idea to kick around. Oz

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  8. I like the way you think, Linda! LOL! There are a few that I would definitly like to toss in the bin and douse with lighter fluid, so maybe I will have to think long and hard about this ... :D

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  9. when i finished reading/laughing this you made me think oh god how many do i have??? and well i have 75 12 x 12 layouts to finish and put in albums whoops!!!! so i've made a plan i only have 6 days left b4 i go back to work so i am hoping i can get 10 - 15 done by then [yeah right] and then do maybe 10 a week, lucky i don't have alot of crafting stuff to do in january! huggs Amanda

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  10. I think you can do it, Amanda! They're not starting from scratch, so you've got some of the hard work done already. Have fun on your time off & enjoy scrapping those layouts! It'll be a nice trip dow memory lane. :D

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  11. thats a normal on-going craft room average!! OCD much??? LMAO
    I think it's okay to panic if you have to start dusting unfinished projects... the way I avoid this problem is boxes, lots and lots of boxes (with lids)!!!
    Taking inventory of unfinished projects is probably a smart thing to do, keeps us honest. - The photo taking of the "list" is probably a bit much and will probably eventually work it's way into a layout.... LMAO
    UStream was being ugly tonight, got to watch but the Chat Room didn't wanna play :-(
    Happy, Happy New Year ~ Be Safe.
    ~Jill ♥ ♥ ♥

    p.s. - take care of Mr. LG, hope he feels better soon.

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  12. Hi Kathryn: Sorry to hear Mr. LG is illin' and hope he will be better soon. I sure wish I wouldn't have missed this past week's shows although I have watched all of them (sad to hear of the suicidal butterfly but you know how flighty they can be)....anyway, I wanted to say what a BEAUTIFUL wedding picture of you and Mr. LG and the other picture of you with another girl under #4...wow!! Well, I just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year and will see you Monday night - unless I get home late...I may have jury duty ~:(
    Happy New Year and thank you for sharing with us - you are always so inspiring!!! Lois

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  13. I think the best idea was letting go of finishing some of the projects. Scavenge what ya can from them and toss. Perhaps you can use Oz's idea for that part. I think you will get quite a bit done because it may drive ya nuts if ya don't. Happy New Year!

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  14. Kathryn, I thought there was something wrong with my brain to do the same thing. I have the same issues...I buy and start new things, get stuck or bored and go to the next. I dont even know how many half done projects I have, I know its rubbermaid bins in my closet and a stack of layouts. All I know is, it didnt start overnight, so finishing em wont happen overnight either...baby steps one finished accomplishment at a time. It helps to prioritize and set goals with achievable timeframes. My goal is to organize what i have first, stop buying new unless i do not have something to complete something I have to use up, like adhesive or a perfect accent. This will motivate me to use what I have when CHA comes around (I hope)...keep us posted I need to blog myself about this...Happy New Year!!!

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  15. You are living my life! Especially the tag storage thingy. I have lotsa pages in my books with no pictures cause my daughter hasn't printed out the pictures, or I haven't.....we live in a parallel universe! Take heart. There are others of us out there.

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  16. Hiya
    Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I had a sort out before my 2 days off were over and cleared out to start the new year. A local junk shop was selling very pretty, large and sturdy boxes with lids and I bought LOADS. I cleaned up in no time. Just got to label the boxes and it's all good.
    I also have lots of albums waiting for pictures and my printer just doesnt seem to want to print right at the moment.
    I hope that everyone has a good new year. Thank you Kathryn for all of your inspiration.
    Hugz Vikki
    xxx

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  17. Good luck on your goals. I have many many many UFO's (un finished objects) in my craft room TOO!!!

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  18. If I dared list every unfinished project I have.........well I'd be locked up in a loony-bin (explain loony-bin is my version or me in a room alone with all my unfinished projects therefore I never to see the light of day again!)

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