A long time ago, back before I had my own laptop (and actually, probably before my family even had a home computer – just my mother’s work laptop that she would bring home on the weekends sometimes) I was really into writing.

Okay, that was a lousy way of wording things – I’m still into writing, it’s not like that’s changed. I mean, what am I doing here other than writing (though maybe not very well, as evidenced by that last confusing sentence)? But back then, I was into…handwriting? Or rather, writing things out by hand?

I don’t know if this is true for kids today, since it seems like they’ve all got their first iPhone by 6 and are on Instagram by 7, but way back when (and by that I mean like 10 years ago), typing was a rarity for an elementary school kid. I remember having to take typing lessons in the computer lab to learn how to position my fingers correctly and get my WPM up, but that was about all we ever did. There were few typed assignments, and we rarely had computers in class.

Handwriting was the only kind of writing a kid did – and I remember really loving it. I think it probably had to do with that it was a relatively novel thing to me, having only learned to write at all a few grades ago, after all. I had really lousy handwriting – my third grade teacher, if I remember, rated it as “poor” once on a report card – but that didn’t matter to me.

I like to think my handwriting’s gotten better since then, even though I don’t do it as much as I used to, especially since I’ve entered college and just about all my assignments are typed in my computer.

But I want to do it more. Noticing this recent decrease in handwritten writing, I decided to order some cute stationery samples – some thank you cards, stickers, notes – to test the waters and see if maybe by getting supplies, I’ll convince myself to write more. I figure if my writing supplies are nice, maybe I’ll be more motivated to write, you know?

The website I went through was called Basic Invite, and I must say, I’m very satisfied with my experience. What’s great about this particular brand was the sheer about of options there were – options for different kids of stationery (wedding invitations, children’s party invitations, thank you cards, etc.), different kinds of paper, colors, you name it. Along with the vast customization features that allow you to create invitations that are perfectly tailored to your needs, I was equally impressed with the service I was provided. I was emailed when my order was completed, when my samples were queued for print, when they were being shipped out, and when they had a delivery date estimation for me. Everything arrived neatly packaged, undamaged, and ready for use.

Will these new supplies actually encourage me to write more? We’ll see. One of my professors has already specifically stated she doesn’t allow computers to be used in her class, so that’ll be a good motivation for me to work on that. I’ll have all my different colored pens, my stickers, my stationery – I’ll be so organized I may even forget to pay attention to the lecture.

Basic Invite is currently running a promotion for 15% off with coupon code 15FF51, so I would definitely recommend giving them a look if you’ve got any stationery needs. Or, if you’re like me, and you don’t really know if you have stationery needs or not, but want to order some samples to test them out, Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers the ability to order a printed sample of their actual invitation so they can see exactly how it will print as well as the paper quality before placing their final order!

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life here at Notre Dame. Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Disclaimer: This post includes products that were sent complimentary to review and affiliate links. All opinions are my own.