The Scrapping Monkey's Adventures: FOBTY: I can't give it all up....

We are having to tighten our belts with the budget. Jon's unemployment will run out next week (extended only a week because he didn't get it one week because he didn't look for work). Add in a week unpaid furlough at my company (which I will take in July), repairs on the house, and a planned vacation to Vegas, and it's getting really tight around here.
So, we give up some things. I've reduced going out for lunch and tried to reduce the amount we go out for dinner. I am trying to cut back on my scrapbooking hobby. But now that I fell back in love with it, I can't seem to cut back on my knitting, especially my knitting groups. Sock Club (fortunately usually only $5 every 2 weeks), Ladies Night Out ($10/month), Cat Bordhi Sock-A-Long (free-yay!) and the Mystery Afghan (free as well thankfully) are becoming constants in my life. But with those store trips for those groups comes..... MORE YARN. But I need it - the sense of companionship and togetherness, creating something useful, appreciating each others' work.

The other thing I am doing is trying to get a design gig, which might help pay for my hobby expenses and a few other things while times are tight. I figure it is at the very least a way to cut back on my scrapbooking purchases since I will be designing my own stuff. (Alas, my wish lists at the Sweet Shoppe and other stores still continue to grow....) So I am working hard at this contest at Funky Playground. So far, I have made it through 2 rounds and I just turned my assignment in for the 3rd round. I'm nervous every time, but we started with 66 entries and now there are only 20 of us (there were 21, but it appears one dropped out as they did not turn in the last assignment). But I love the excitement of seeing my stuff downloaded. Here are the previews of what I submitted so far:
Round 1: Love My Dog