I’ve been working on a frame for a while now - cleaned it down, sanded it, painted it, waxed it, distressed it, painted it again, sanded it again, painted it again, distressed it again …but it just ‘aint workin’. It’s too messed up to ever look good now. Think I’ll put this one down to experience.
There was a famous quote …“I fail over and over again - that’s how I’m so successful”. Think I’ll adopt this!! 
John.
John, why don’t you go with it and put it up for sale? Instead of it being a mistake, make it a ‘design feature’ and a one off never to be repeated limited edition? You could be very surprised - it could be a best seller!
Jacqueline x
Hmm, not sure. I’ll ponder that one!
Thank you.
Sometimes, when something just isn’t working, I put it away for a while. When I find it again, it often looks “better” than I remember and I get inspiration to finish it - often in a different way to when I began.
Maybe if you cover it up / put it away for a couple of weeks, you will be able to see what needs doing when you bring it back out again?
Good Luck!
I do the same my moto is if you don’t know what to do don’t do anything I find this really useful as when I go back to something I quite often get inspiration
I agree with putting it away for a couple of days or so then having another look back - one of my early discards has since become one of my biggest sellers! And I still don’t like it! 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder- even if you don’t like it others might. I love primitive and distressed stuff and so do plenty of other people
Thanks for your inspiring comments folks. I have kept away from it, but will go back for another look soon. If I can make anything of it I’ll let you see it
I agree about putting it away for a while. In the past I’ve done artwork I’ve almost binned, put it away in a drawer, and six months later thought it wasn’t so bad, why didn’t I finish it! Oddly the things I’m least satisfied with when I finish other people seem to love the most as well. They don’t see all our perceived “mistakes”
I go with the putting it away for a while idea. When I mess something up, it just seems to look worse the more I look at it. I’m better to get on with something else and then come back to it at a later date with a fresh pair of eyes.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to put up an item I wasn’t happy with.
If it did sell you’d worry that the buyer may spot the part you weren’t happy with in the first place.
Plus, would you want a sub standard item to be the item potential customers see first in your shop?
Sarah x
I don’t think anyone was suggesting that John should sell a sub-standard item. The idea was that he might be able to make something really good from his apparent “failure”. Many of us have times when something doesn’t work out how we want it to. That doesn’t mean it is “sub-standard”, so much as, it hasn’t worked in the way we expected. If this kind of item is put away for a period of weeks or months, very often, seeing it with fresh eyes can also bring a fresh perspective and we can see what is needed to make it a piece of work we can feel proud of.
Lizzie
Completely agree - my comment was in response to someone suggesting he put it up in his shop as a ‘‘one of a kind item.’’
So glad it’s not just me. I nearly gave up with producing new craft items buta year after surgery now so I’m starting now :-))))