First Card of the New Year

I cannot help but think of The Polar Express and "the first gift of Christmas" as I post about my first card of 2009.

This morning I found myself without a plan for the "Who Loves Ya Baby" swap hosted by Tracey D. Looking for inspiration, I shuffled through my card stash. I should not have been surprised that the one that jumped out at me was made by my friend Sandra. I copied her layout, but the stamp, ribbon and paper piecing are my own.

All paper (other than the plaid) are from SU, the sentiment is also SU and the cow is from the $1 bin at either ACMoore or Michael's. Best dollar I ever spent; this is one of my favorite cow stamps. The ribbon is also from Michael's, I believe.

Looking back now, I see it is pretty flat. (Sandra's had used a pop-dot, but my image was not compatible with that idea). I probably should have embossed one of those green panels. Even so, I am still happy with how it turned out. I am in love with that ribbon, and even though there are eight of these cards, no two cows are alike. Truly they are "like no udder". Paper piecing the cow was one of my better ideas, I must say.

Happy New Year!