The present invention contemplates a device and method providing a writing surface such as a face of a greeting card or a sheet of stationary including temporary penmanship improving indicia such as lining or a grid. The invention employs an air-activated, disappearing substance such as ink covered with an overlying ambient environment, sealing barrier sheet preferably removably affixed to the writing surface. To activate the disappearing substance, the user removes the barrier sheet, permitting exposure of the disappearing substance to air, thereby causing a chemical reaction such as oxidation. The user can then utilize the penmanship improving indicia, and his or her writing appears neatly aligned. After a select period of time, e.g., approximately five to ten minutes, the once visible ink disappears, thereby leaving only the user's neatly aligned writing.