August 23, 2013
August 16, 2013
Happy Friday! Here's some mellow tunes that I enjoyed this week.
Volcano Choir - Byegone
Shovels & Rope - Lay Low
The Tallest Man On Eart - King of Spain
August 09, 2013
This week I've been playing a lot of catch-up on a few outstanding projects and also working furiously to meet a few self-imposed deadlines. Keeping me company, the Head and the Heart's new single, "Shake." Happy weekend!
August 02, 2013
It's hot, hot, hot here in Austin and I've been busy prepping my Holiday 2013 releases. I've been playing a lot of tunes in the studio to keep me company, including this favorite, a version of "This Train is Bound for Glory" featuring Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show from the Big Easy Express documentary.
July 19, 2013
This week I've been putting the finishing touches on new Christmas cards and other new releases that I'll share more about soon. Instead of a constant loop of holiday music on iTunes, though, I've been listening to some old favorites from Glen Hansard/The Swell Season. Happy Friday!
Astral Weeks (Van Morrison cover)
Falling Slowly (with Eddie Vedder)
Feeling the Pull
July 12, 2013
This song has been stuck in my head all week! I've been playing Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's new album nonstop (did you know Steve Martin is not only a talented comedian, but also an amazing banjo player?), and can't get enough of this bluegrass love song.
June 28, 2013
It's been a busy week at Happy Cactus Designs. I've been putting the finishing touches on a number of new card designs for the upcoming holidays. It's hard to describe what it's like to be designing Christmas cards when the thermometer outside reads 101 degrees. I can't wait to share what I've been up to! I also had the good fortune of seeing Robert Plant perform live this week. It was amazing and my first time to see this legend live. He and his band played a number of Led Zepplin songs like this African-influenced version of Black Dog. Happy Friday!
Robert Plant Presents The Sensational Space Shifters - Black Dog
June 14, 2013
June 07, 2013
The creative soundtrack series is back after a little Stationery Show induced vacation! iTunes and YouTube have been my best friends this week while I work on fulfilling Stationery Show orders and work on a few custom projects. Here's a few songs keeping me company.
Mumford and Sons - The Boxer (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers
The Lone Bellow - Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold
May 10, 2013
It's been a crazy busy week wrapping up many Stationery Show related tasks. Happy Cactus will be headed to NYC next week for the show, and starting Monday I'll be sharing some sneak peeks of new products. If you can't wait until then, check out this preview on the wonderful blog Paper Crave!
For this week's creative soundtrack, I'm sharing a video of Jim James (from My Morning Jacket) performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It's one of the best performances I can recall seeing on a late night talk show and has been my jam all week!
May 03, 2013
Home stretch of National Stationery Show prep means a lot of time working in my studio sorting, cutting, stuffing, and organizing all of my products and booth items. This also means the need for a really great work soundtrack. Here's what I've been listening to this week.
Iron & Wine - Grace for Saints and Ramblers
April 26, 2013
Up this week, new songs from a new band that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. The Shouting Matches is a side project from Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. The album, Grownass Man, is full of bluesy, rock-n-roll jams, perfect for doing Stationery Show prep to!
