Currently Coveting - Wednesday Wishlist {The Magpie Edition}

Now, you may be wondering why on Earth this week is 'The Magpie Edition' , after all 'Back to School' makes perfect sense, but magpies...? As in the bird....?

Yes, magpies, as in the bird! Let me explain....

There wasn't going to be a wishlist post at all this week. I'm planning to put one together every other week from now on, and fill the gap with a different series, all about words and language. This is something I'm quite excited to start, but with a weekly wishlist, a recipe or tutorial, an interview thrown into the mix and now the addition of a language focused post, that doesn't leave much room for the fun, spur of the moment, real life posting I love doing too!

So, I decided to alternate between the two. I was writing my first post exploring a new-to-me word, and trying to think of a good title for this new feature. Wednesday Words occurred to me but I don't think it could be any more boring, and in any case it won't always be about words specifically. Anything else with alliteration made me feel a bit shuddery, and nothing else felt right, so I put the name to one side for a while and kept writing. Just as I was dropping off to sleep that night I was drawn back to the reason I love blogging, why I started in the first place and the inspiration behind the name 'The Salted Tail' - it's all about collecting things, ideas, memories and thoughts, playing with them, and sharing them. Quite suddenly 'The Language Magpie' flapped out of my subconscious and fluttered in front of me. Perfect! I really enjoy the notion of a magpie wearing librarian glasses and carrying a dictionary, flying around collecting pretty, shiny pieces of language knowledge!





And so, I set about looking for a good image of a magpie to introduce the new feature, and instead I found myself pinning lots of magpie related things to my 'covet' board. So, here we have a celebratory magpie edition of the 'Wednesday Wishlist - next Wednesday I'll be posting the first 'Language Magpie', and from there they will then continue to share the Wednesday slot!

For now, I hope you enjoy this weeks round-up of goodies...

1. Two for Joy - Linoprint by Ruth Broadway

This lino print draws on the old poem 'one for sorrow, two for joy....' I adore the simplicity of the crisp single coloured print, and the shiny pilfered key hiding amongst the eggs! I'm not particularly superstitious but I can't see a single magpie without looking for a second, hoping there's one close, so I think having two magpies on my wall every day would definitely keep me feeling positive! 

2. Good Morning Mr. Magpie mug - Blinkin' Imp

Of course, superstition dictates that if you do see a lone magpie, you can ward off the impending sorrow by saluting him with the words 'Good morning Mr Magpie, how's the wife today?' Again, I was drawn to this mug for it's simple design with pops of bright blue, plus I think the pattern on this beady eyed fellow's plumage is fantastic! 

3. Magpie Leggings by Megan Auman

I hadn't heard of Megan Auman until these leggings popped up during my Pinterest search for 'magpie', but I was immediately drawn to the watercolour, painterly feel they have, very much like wings in flight! Megan Auman is a jewellery designer and her range of leggings are all currently on sale so I suspect they may not be available for long, but she also has some beautifully designed jewellery pieces too, so definitely worth a look! We're sticking with the water colour theme for the next find....

4. Magpie Print by Linn Sjoberg

I'm afraid I don't know an awful lot about this because it was a Pinterest find that didn't lead anywhere. I wasn't going to include it but it kept coming back to me so I've found out as much as I can. I have always been interested in art that strips the subject back to it's bare minimum and explores how something can be portrayed using the very least amount of visual information. I really enjoy that this piece is little more than a few brushstrokes, but with careful use of the medium of watercolour and negative space, it is unquestionably a magpie! I managed to track down Linn Sjoberg's website but it doesn't seem to work properly, and have also found her on Instagram where I think she takes commissions... 

5. Letter Board by Magpie

Now, I'm cheating slightly because clearly these next two items have nothing to do with magpies! However, they are both from a homewares range called Magpie which I got rather lost exploring after I discovered it by accident. There are so many wonderful things (that are all British and vegan!) and I could have included lots but I've chosen two which I found particularly pleasing and rather different! 

The first is this letter board, vintage in style with over 200 letters! I think it would be great for displaying your favourite quotes, inspirational notes or even the funny things your children have said to brighten up your day! You can also buy a set of yellow letters too. 

6. Periodic Table Block Set by Magpie

Despite enjoying it at school (and chain-watching episodes of The Big Bang Theory) I know very little about science. I love this though - a set of 120 blocks, each featuring an element from the table. I think this is great aesthetically, and I enjoy the vintage feel it has, but I imagine it would also be excellent for actually learning the table (do people need to do that...?) or raising the next Albert Einstein! 

Hopefully you enjoyed this slightly random round up. This time next week I'll be sharing the first instalment of 'The Language Magpie' - I'll give you a clue, it starts with 'A'...

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