Three years ago Matt and I were amazed at the idea that you could make marshmallows from scratch. So we decided to try it. It turns out they are much more fluffy and melt in your mouth than the store bought kind, and we were hooked. Along the way I got the idea to make them for all of my clients and send them out a Christmas gift. The idea stuck, and this week – for the third year in a row – I spent two days making, packaging and mailing out homemade marshmallows to all of the people I photographed this year.

In the past I tackled this project on my own and often found myself covered in powdered sugar late at night trying to finish up. For the first time, however, I had the help of some great friends and am so thankful to them… I should probably make them marshmallows too! We made approximately 400 marshmallows in both vanilla and peppermint flavors and each box contained a few of each kind. I also put a card in a each box that had a note on one side and a recipe for hot chocolate on the other.

Here’s a little look into the process of this year’s marshmallow making and packaging. I promise it is easier than it seems, but I suggest you don’t look up the recipe and just be impressed. I love to send these out and let all of my 2011 clients know how much I enjoyed working with them, but I want to let my blog readers know as well! That’s why I’m going to send out two more boxes of marshmallows to two lucky people who comment on this post. Comment once a day until Sunday at midnight – and the winners will be announced on this post in a comment on Monday. Merry Christmas!

to say thanks! If you were a client of mine in 2009, you probably recognize the card and these marshmallows and hopefully have received them already! I wanted to send something out to thank you since I really feel blessed to do something I love and share that with people. Thanks for keeping me in business and if you want to take advantage of the offer that was included in the card, you just need to contact me by january 15 and work out the details.

Well this is a busy time of year, in so many good ways since I’ve been busy spending time with family and catching up with some friends. I hope you’re able to do the same and had a Merry Christmas. We have a few Christmas traditions that we enjoyed and they include: eating tamales + posole on Christmas Eve, having homemade cinnamon rolls Christmas morning (matt and I started that tradition), opening presents together as a family and taking turns, and playing a rousing game of tripoly. Unfortunately we weren’t able to celebrate with our family in New Mexico but we missed everyone! I was, however, given a flip for Christmas (hooray! thanks Matt) so I took a lot of fun videos and of course there will be more in the future. I’ve included just a short one of my niece and our dog to show how cute they both are. Also, if anyone already has a flip what tips can you give me for using/editing? I have imovie, but it’s not that versatile so I might look into getting something else. Of course, I’m happy if I just have the regular videos as well, but it would be fun to edit them into masterpieces!

Well I need to stop blogging and go spend more time with my family – I hope you are able to do the same and enjoy!