I am spending some time with the wonderful Design Aglow contributor and my good friend, Tamara Lackey, at her Raleigh, North Carolina studio. She took some of our Design Aglow papers (from the Black N' White, in the Patterns section) and customized them with her studio colors for these pretty marketing cards. I also spotted her Inspire Guide: Portrait Displays in her gallery area, amid a sea of framed prints, prints mounted and displayed on easels, and life size canvases...awesome!

Samantha Bender shares her beautiful engagement album with us...this is super, don't you agree?

Sam says, "Design aglow is such a fantastic resource...I'm officially addicted! One of my favorite products is the Deliciously Fresh templates. {Find them in the Shop, in the Templates section, under Album Templates.}

I use them for my engagement and senior albums and my clients go crazy over them! I keep the bright colors of the templates for our seniors and tone the colors down so they're a little more soft for our engagement books. I also split up each template into two sides and stick them in a self mount leather 8x8" album. I loooove them and it's fun to see our clients come in, see samples, and drool."

tip* You can use these templates with any book binder....I'm not sure which one Sam is using here, but we like the clean lines and unlimited cover options of the Finao self mount books best.

*This will be a new, ongoing feature...open to all, no expiration!

We had many requests for a Circle Sweet 16 Collage...our square version is our best selling collage and our photographers love it. This template is also an action, which makes inserting your images fully automatic and saves you tons of valuable time!

Use this modern design for coffee table book covers, canvases, framed collages, promo postcards, venue cards, guest books, web layouts, save the date thank you, or holiday cards cards, and more! Unflattened PSDs allow for complete customization.

Sweet 16 Circles is in the shop now...go to Templates, then Collages, Page 2.

Courtney Price shared these images with us...the Artist's Studio Elements from the Design Aglow Shop, in the Texture Department. We love how these look as a wall gallery!

"I plan to use the Artists Studio Elemtents for so much more than I already have, but so far, I have had big success in canvas with this pack. I was looking for a way to make canvas more accessible. They say, "show big, sell big" and that's true to a certain extent, but someone has to be really excited, not to mention have a lot of extra money to spend, to be able to buy a 20x40 canvas (which was my main showcase piece before now). When I saw the Design Aglow line of products, I knew this would be perfect to take things in a new direction. I ordered 6 canvases in sizes from 8x10 to 16x20, just to start out-- I plan on getting more (and bigger) for my wall later.

In just 24 hours I already had orders and new bookings based on seeing these pieces on my wall. The Artists Studio Elements brings all the different images together in a fun, relaxed style which I believe my customers have really responded well to. And better yet, they will be able to easily add to their collection at a later date and still keep a cohesive look. My next step is to purchase more Design Aglow products so that I can offer some different looks as well! "

Brooke Clark sent us this today and I love how she customized the guide with her studio colors and images to take her sales to the next level in three different ways!

"I spent the better part of a week deciding how I was going to design our new style guide using your awesome Wall Display II templates. When all was said and done we chose to use the templates in three different ways.

The proof is in the sale. We did our first client consultation using our new design tools and it was our highest sale of the year.

THANK YOU!"

Season Moore sent in these images for us this week....and thank you Season!

"Just thought I'd share my concept for the Inspire Guide: Wall Displays 2 - I had these printed at lulu.com. My books include planning and info pages as well as the wall galleries. I customized some of the colors a bit and doubled up the displays on 6x9 pages. I give these to clients right after their session so they can start thinking gallery. It turned out cute and clients have loved having the visual aid!"

Have a great idea for using Design Aglow products? Email us with your images and a quote and we will reward you with a $75 shopping spree if we use your post. We love to hear from you about the innovative ways you are presenting, marketing, and selling.

Sara Anthony wrote to us recently, "Design Aglow has been a great asset amidst taking my business to the next level. I have enjoyed every product Iandrsquo;ve purchased from your company. One of my latest purchases was the Well Rounded Creative Collages. I used a template to create a postcard-sized reminder for my clients to check my blogandhellip;.after all, they could be the next featured model! I include it in the bag of goodies they receive at the close of a session."

I think I see the inspire guide: wall displays remade into a client giveaway there too, Sara.

Thank you for sending us this super idea!

(Sara receives a $75 gift certificate in the Shop for sending in this post.)

Beth Cupitt, of Rouge Photography writes us, "This is my most pricey and hands-down bestseller, my Rouge Album. I use Design Aglow's Rich Papers and Victorian Grunge Borders to make the super simple album. I print them as 8x8s and mount them in the self-stick Finao Elements albums. These are easy and elegant and a perfect compliment to my boudoir business. A beautifully classy design that's not overcomplicated. I love them!"

Thank you for your share, Beth!

(Beth receives a $75 gift certificate in the Shop for her fabulous share. What a perfect product for boudoir photography!)

of a white (and black) Christmas. New. Simple. Elegant. Easy. These templates are exclusive to Design Aglow and are just the thing to bring a sophisticated look to your images. I love the new overlays on these... our designers have again created something completely new and exciting in cards for your clients to add to their holiday orders, bravo!

See more right here: http://www.designaglow.com/the_shop/store_pages/product_categories/templates/holiday_cards.php

(in the shop, under templates, page two)

We love our readers and our fans....and we want to hear more from you!

Leave a comment on our blog (with your contact info) and at least once a month a random comment will receive a $100 shop credit! Or, send us beautiful photos or collages of your Design Aglow creations (8x12 inches, horizontal) and if we use your images, you will also receive a $75 credit from us.

*This will be a new, ongoing feature...open to all, no expiration!

(image by Andrea Joki's article in Issue 5: the Success Issue)

Part three of our relationship with the fabulous Finao, these portfolio boxes are the hottest thing in my studio right now...I have three samples on the worktable and EVERYONE who comes in is all over them, even our UPS guy!

These are perfect for portraits, engagements, high school seniors, or even as an alternate to a couple's or parent's wedding album. Each box holds a collection of 15 matted prints, which you have printed by your lab and pop into the included mats in minutes. A pretty ribbon lifts them out of the box. The cover is printed on canvas and the whole box is substantial...it feels serious!

Add your studio name to the back and you will be the talk of the town. Give to your favorite venue and watch the referrals pour in... we think these are hot!

Look at our new holiday cards... the palette and designs will make your clients want these right now! Again, we are the first source for four-sided cards, which means every inch of these beauties looks like a custom designer creation and can demand higher sales for your studio.

Unflattened .psd files are the ultimate in versatility: change colors, layouts, even sizes. Use the elements for custom labels, marketing materials, album pages, flat cards, holiday promos, and gift tags...the sky is the limit!

We would love to see what you do with these templates...drop us a line with an image of your work any time!

(this set is under templates page 2, and also the featured templates on the main shop page at designaglow.com)

Presenting...The Success Issue! Our expert contributors include: Tara Whitney, Justine Ungaro, Jesh de Rox, Andrea Joki, Jen Thompson, Karen Carey, and Joyce Smith. Explore selling, studios, style, and more... with all articles revolving around creating success in the wedding and portrait photography business.

Take a sneak peek of all the articles at designaglow.com and find some fresh secrets for your own success!

Design Aglow contributor, Laura Novak has shared a stunning 5x5 trifold (printed through WHCC) that she gives to her wedding venues as a promotional piece. Laura took elements from our holiday cards and proof borders to make a custom creation.

Learn more about Laura's extremely successful Wilmington, Delaware studio today and how to quickly grow your own wedding business on ppa.com, where she gives her live webinar at noon EST.

These just arrived from the magical land of Finao...and I had to share because the box templates with the coordinated proof borders just rock my world! This is the 5x7 box with 5x7 proofs, both are in the "templates" area of the shop. Yummy~