Hello ;)
What I suggest you do is use a create - validate - save pattern where in the creation. For general details about that you can inspect this following resource by Johan.
Regarding your concrete concern I believe you should create your 'Project' object and after you input the project details when the user presses the save button your 'Project' object should be committed. Afterwards, when you open it for editing it you should be able to see the previously saved changes.