Back-to-School is my favourite time of the year  - and it's not because I loved school or excelled. 

It was the school supplies that got me every time. The opportunity to be creative and organized has lasted all of these decades after finishing school - every August I tingle with anticipation about what I might find that will enhance my work, my life!

This year, Sharpie and Paper Mate have made extraordinary leaps and bounds in variety, colour and quality. Let me show you what I'm using this semester season:

To rev up your notebooks and planners, Sharpie introduces the New 80's Glam Limited Edition. These 5 awesome colours were chosen by Sharpie Facebook Fans - argyle green, leg warmer orange, jellie pink, banana clip yellow and valley girl violet. I love that the colours are vastly different from one another, which makes colour coding a breeze. And because they've got a fine tip, you don't have to use them just for labels or packages anymore - they work on everything from 3-hole punch lined paper to your knapsack. They're quick drying and fade and water resistant. What are you add  these awesome 80's colours to? Available at Walmart, Staples and Loblaws.

And if you're still thinking of Sharpie Markers as something that is only used for specific purposes (I always use them for addressing packages for mail), you can enjoy the feel of the marker with the new Sharpie Pens. The feel of these is fantastic - incredibly smooth and even. And because it won't bleed through pens like markers and the point is super fine, you can use it to write on everything as you would a regular pen. They are smudge resistant too, both lefties and paper lovers don't have to worry about mucking up our beautiful clean pages. They come in 4 fun colours (turquoise, watermelon, hot pink and clover) that will make filling in your calendar fun again! Available at Walmart.

Another Sharpie product to blow your mind is the Sharpie Liquid Pencil. Liquid graphite is the wonder ingredient here, so you feel like you're writing with a super smooth pen, but it erases like a pencil. So go ahead and scribble away - you can always change it. Now available in 4 fresh colours at Staples, Walmart and Grand & Toy.

Paper Mate Gel Pens (pictured above) are so much fun. They just glide across the page. Delivering bright colours that never fade and a quick drying ink that prevents smudges, you'll switch back to using paper in a snap! They come in 8 colours, available at Staples, Walmart and Zellers.

And just watch how much you write with the Paper Mate Profile. Called the "World's Smoothest Pen," it is a pure joy and so little effort to use these pens. You'll be so productive now that you're making lists and checking things off! These dry quickly and provide bold colours to your otherwise bland pages. Get one of every colour - black, blue, red, purple, green, orange, turquoise and magenta. Available at Staples, Walmart, Grand & Toy and Zellers.

Thanks Sharpie and Paper Mate!