Instructions for the magic.
1.THE FRENCH DROP
If you want to look like a professional magician you will need to learn some sleight-of-hand. One of the best sleights that a magician can do is called “The French Drop.” With this technique you can make a coin, ball or other small object seem to vanish from your hand. With the left palm up and fingers curled in slightly, hold a coin between your first and second fingers and thumb of your left hand. Now with your right hand, palm down, reach as if you are going to take the coin. Your right thumb goes underneath the coin and your right fingers start to curl around it. As soon as the coin is covered you let the coin fall down into your left hand. Close your right hand into a loose fist and hold it up as your left hand (secretly hiding the coin) drops down to your left side. It is very important to focus all attention onto your right hand just as if the coin were there! You can now slowly open your hand to show that the coin has vanished! As you make it vanish you can sneakily put your left hand into your pocket and leave the coin behind! Make sure to practice this move before trying it on your helpers. You’ll find that watching yourself in a mirror will really help you get all the angles right!
2.PERPLEXING BEADS
Examine the colored beads carefully and you will see that two of them are the same color and are slightly larger than the other two. If you put one of the larger beads into the tube it will not come out of the other side because it is too wide. This is the magic secret that will allow you to perform some pretty cool effects! Before your performance, secretly place one of the larger beads into the tube. While performing the trick, hold the tube so the hidden bead doesn’t drop out. Now place either one of the small beads into the other end of the tube. Then place the other small bead into that end and then finally the other large bead and have the spectator remember the color order of the beads. Now, tip the tube over so the original hidden bead comes out with the two smaller beads behind it. It will look like you magically changed the color order inside of the tube! The large bead that you put in last will be safely hidden away on the other side. If you want to get rid of that bead at the end of the effect so you can hand the tube out for examination, simply tilt the tube over into your hand as the spectator is looking at the other beads. Then close your hand around the bead as it drops into your hand. Then place the now empty tube on the table as you casually put your hand in your pocket, getting rid of the extra bead!
3.THE JUMPING BEAD
Before you show this next trick, have one of the larger beads hidden in your hand. Secretly holding something in your hand while making your hand look as natural as possible is called “palming.” You should practice palming coins and small objects if you want to become a professional magician. Because the beads are relatively small, palming one should be fairly easy to do. You can hold the bead with your pinky and ring finger at the bend of the fingers near the palm in what magicians call a “finger palm”, and still keep you hand looking natural. Most people won’t realize that you have something hidden there! When you are ready to perform the trick, take one of the smaller beads with your other hand and place it into the hand that you have the hidden bead. A natural way to do this is to start to close the hand you have the hidden bead in as you pick up the other bead from the table. Place this bead into the top of your closed fist as you say the color of the bead. Then pick up the other small bead and drop it into your closed fist and say the color. Finally, stand the tube upright on the table and drop in the large bead as you say the color. Then say a few magic words and then pick the tube straight up showing that it has disappeared. Then stick the tube with the hidden bead still in it in your pocket, as open you hand to show all three beads! If the spectators ask to see the tube, take it out of your pocket, but first secretly turn it over so the hidden bead falls out and stays in your pocket!
4.THE APPEARING BEAD
Before your show, secretly hide one of the large beads in the tube, and leave the tube standing up on the table. When you are ready to perform the trick, lift the tube straight up to show that there are no beads in it. Then, secretly turn the tube over as you make a magical gesture with your other hand. Thenn lift the tube up again and they will see the bead. It will look like you conjured it up from thin air!
5.THE VANISHING BEAD
You can combine the “Appearing Bead” trick and the “French Drop” that you learned earlier for an awesome trick! Perform the “Appearing Bead” trick, but don’t lift off the tube to show the bead just yet. Take the second large sized bead and vanish it with the “French Drop.” Then lift up the tube and show that it has reappeared!
6.THE MAGIC COIN TRICK
Your little box can hold one or a number of coins. Despite its very simple look it is capable of performing some devastating magic! Have the round box on your fingers and put a coin in it. As you reach for the lid of the box, let the box turn over in your hand, by closing your fingers a little. Put the lid of the box onto the bottom of the box! It looks as though the coin is trapped in the box but, because the box is upside down, it isn’t! Pretty sneaky, huh? You can now lift up the box and put it on the table, leaving the coin behind in your hand. Be careful not to let anybody see the coin! Pick up the box and toss it in the air. It lands on the table and comes apart to show that the coin has vanished! Because the box is moving rapidly, it is impossible for your friends to see which way up it was.
7.PENETRATING COIN
Before your show, use a permanent marker to put an X onto a quarter. Put this quarter underneath a plate during your show. Show your friends another quarter and draw an X on it making it look just like the one on the coin hidden underneath the plate. Put this coin inside your box, stealing the coin secretly as you do so. Claim that the coin will vanish from the box and appear on the plate. Open the box to show that the coin has vanished but, horrors, it is not on the plate! After pretending to be puzzled for a few moments lift up the plate, “discover” the coin and say, “Wow, the magic is even stronger than I thought!”
8.PUZZLING BOOMERANGS
PUZZLING BOOMERANGS This amazing optical illusion will have your audience shaking their heads in disbelief. Place one of your boomerangs on top of the other—you’ll find that they are exactly the same size. When using them in your show, put the boomerangs on the table, one directly above the other. The bottom one will appear to be bigger than the top one. This illusion is so convincing that you may even fool yourself the first few times you try it! Now pick up the top boomerang and pretend to stretch it, then replace it—but under the one still on the table. Suddenly the “shorter” boomerang will appear to be the longer one! You can repeat this a few times to totally confuse your audience. Finish by saying, “Now I’ll make them both the same size!” Snap your fingers over the boomerangs, and then demonstrate that they are in fact the same length by placing one on top of the other!
9.THE MONEY TUBE
Your Money Tube is a neat magical apparatus that will allow you to make objects appear, disappear and change from one thing into another. It is made up of three parts, the cap, the tube and a secret smaller tube (insert) that fits inside of the larger one. The audience is not supposed to know about this secret insert! Set the tube with the special insert inside with the cap on top. Now hold the cap firmly between your thumb and first finger of one hand, and with your other hand pull the tube straight down. You will notice that the cap and insert are still together in your first hand. Keep your fingers around the special insert, hiding it from the audience. It should look like you are holding the cap only! Now let’s learn to do some cool magic with your Money Tube.
10.MONEY FIBERS
Before your show, put a small length of colored thread inside of the tube and then place the secret insert on top, but leave the cap off. When you are ready to perform the trick, borrow a dollar bill from someone in the audience. You will need to fold up the dollar bill so it fits inside of the tube. Tell the audience that you will now make the dollar bill vanish. Make a few magical passes over the tube and then remove the insert as you were taught earlier. Tip out the colored thread and say, “Well, I made most of the dollar bill vanish. Do you know how money has thread in it, well it seems that is all that’s left!”
11.GHOST WRITING
You can use your Money Tube for more than just money tricks. Before your show, write a message on a small slip of paper and fold it up. It’s especially cool if this is some information about your helper such as their name or age. Hide the paper in the tube with the insert on top of it. During your show, display a blank piece of paper and fold it up. Put it into the tube (really the insert) and put on the lid. Claim that a friendly ghost lives in the tube and that he’s going to write something about your helper. Remove the lid (and insert) and tip out the paper. Let your helper open it up to discover the ghostly writing!
12.A SNEAKY TACTIC
If you are at all worried about stealing away the hidden insert behind your fingers you can instead cover the Money Tube with a small square of tissue saying that you are totally isolating it. When you remove the tissue take the cap and insert with it giving you much more cover to conceal the stolen insert!
13.THE PENCIL TRICK
In addition to your picture frame, you’ll need a small playing card that you are willing to have destroyed or a piece of very thin cardboard as well as a pencil or pen. Before your show, slide one end of the playing card under the left or right side of the raised section of plastic (it looks like an eye) in the middle of the frame. The card will go past the circle in the middle and come out of the other side of the raised plastic. Make sure you place your card on the side of the frame with the wording on. On this side there is a locking mechanism, which is released when the playing card goes through. After placing the playing card into the correct side of the frame, put your first finger behind the frame and, using slight pressure, slide the clear window on the other side of the frame, allowing the hole to show through the center of the eye. To perform the effect, show the penetrating frame to be perfectly solid. You can even allow this amazing prop to be completely examined. When you place the playing card on the correct side of the frame and secretly slide the plastic window on the other side, you will now be able to poke a pencil or a pen through the playing card and have it come out through the other side of the frame. After you show both sides of the frame with the pencil sticking through, you can remove the pencil and secretly slide the plastic window back into place. If you like, you can even place a playing card on both sides of the frame, but first make sure you place the first one on the side which releases the window, then move the plastic window to allow the hole to line up and then place the second card on the back side of the frame. Now you can push the pencil through two cards for an even more impressive effect!
14.COLOR VISION
You will notice that your Mind Reading Box is made up of three parts, the lid, the six sided picture cube and the square box. While turning your back to the audience, ask one of them to put the picture cube in the box and remember which image is on top. Have them cover it, and then place the box in your hands behind your back. Turn around to face them, but keep the box in your hands behind your back. Tell them that you will now try and read their mind. Behind your back, move the lid from the top to the front side of the box. Now, bring the box out, making sure that the top is uppermost and the open side is facing you. You will now be able to just glance at the opening and see what picture they picked. Make believe you are still trying to read their mind before naming the correct image. Then just put the box in your pocket and they will never be the wiser as to how you did it!
15.MIND READING BOX PROFESSIONAL ENDING
Instead of just putting the box in your pocket as in the previous trick, you can actually hand the box right back to your helper without them ever knowing that you were looking through an open side. After you tell them the name of the picture they selected, put your right thumb over the open side covering the picture. With your left thumb and fingers, start to take off the lid as you rotate your right hand forward. This brings the open side upright. Now fully take off the lid and present the box and the lid to your helper to inspect!
16. MIND READING BOX PROFESSIONAL SPIN
You can even show all sides of the cube to be closed, even though one side will be open! While performing the trick, hold the box in front of you in your left hand with your thumb on the bottom right hand corner of the box on the open side. Now place your first finger on the left hand corner furthest away from you on the top lid. By using the first finger of your right hand you can now spin the box on an angle to the right. If you hold the box below their eye line, they will not be able to see the opening!
MAGIC WITH EVERYDAY OBJECTS
17.THE LINKING PAPER CLIP
For this wild effect, you’ll need two paper clips and a dollar bill. If you don’t have a dollar you can use any currency or a piece of paper. Fold the bill into an “S” shape and clip it together with the open end of the dollar clipped to one side of the inside fold and the other end of the dollar clipped to one side of the other inside fold. Now pull the ends of the paper apart- the two paper clips will fly into the air and link together all by themselves!
18.THE JUMPING RUBBER BAND
You’ll need, surprise, surprise, a rubber band to perform this neat little effect. Put the rubber band over your first and second fingers. Make sure that your palm is facing you and the back of your hand is toward the audience. Curl your fingers down into a fist, but as you do, pull the rubber band out towards you and slip all of your fingers inside of it, letting the rubber band rest against the bottom part of your fingers, near the nail. From the front where your helpers are watching, it will appear as though the band were around just the first two fingers. Say a magic word and straighten your fingers out. The band will magically hop onto your third and little fingers!
19.THE TRAPPED JUMPING RUBBER BAND
If you twist another rubber band around the tips of your fingers as shown, it will appear as though the first rubber band cannot escape. But, astonishingly, if you perform the moves as you did in the previous effect, the effect will still work! This is a good follow-up to the trick, as you are repeating the trick under even more difficult conditions!
20.DOUBLE JUMPER
Another great follow-up to the previous tricks involves two different colored rubber bands. Put one over your first two fingers and one over your third and little fingers. Close your hand into a fist, fingers towards you, and put all four fingers into both rubber bands. Now, when you straighten out your fingers the rubber bands will change places. This will even work with a third band twisted around your fingertips, as in the trapped rubber band trick, making for a very baffling mystery indeed!
21.RING UP RUBBER BAND
Even a broken rubber band can be used to create magic! Borrow a ring from an audience member and put it on your broken rubber band. Now grip the band in the center with one hand, keeping the rest hidden in your hand. With your other hand, stretch out the band so that it is sloping upwards. The ring should be at the bottom of the slope, nearer to the hand with the hidden portion of rubber band. Now slowly let the band slip between your fingers, releasing the portion you concealed. The ring will creep uphill in a very magical way! The slower you let the band come out from your hand, the slower and more magical the creeping action will be.
22.THE UNBROKEN TOOTHPICK
For this trick, you will need a cloth napkin with hem, and two toothpicks (not included in the set). Before the performance, you need to secretly put one of the toothpicks (toothpick A) into the hem of the cloth. To begin, you will lay out the piece of cloth and place the other toothpick (toothpick B) at the center of the piece of cloth. Now fold the piece of cloth around toothpick B and seemingly hold onto it. In fact, you are secretly holding onto toothpick A in the hem of the cloth while toothpick B is left free inside the cloth. Now ask a volunteer to break the toothpick through the piece of cloth (actually you will let the volunteer break toothpick A inside the hem. Make sure that they confirm that they have broken the toothpick by feeling that it really broken. Now open the piece of cloth and magically show the volunteer toothpick B which is not broken.
23.THE SNEAKY COUNT
Get ten toothpicks and on one of them make a tiny secret mark on both sides so that you can tell this one apart from the others. Make the mark as small as possible with a pencil so that you are the only one who knows it is there. During your show, bring out the ten toothpicks and put them out in a line side by side. Make that your secretly marked toothpick is the first one on the left hand end of the row. That means the secret marked toothpick is on your left, but your audience’s right. Say that you will turn your back and that one of them is to move a number of toothpicks between one and ten, one at a time, from their right to their left end of the row. This means the first toothpick they will move is the secret toothpick. When they have finished, turn back and say, “As impossible as it might seem I’m going to tell you just how many toothpicks you moved!” As you say this, look for your secretly marked toothpick and counting it as ‘one’ count how many there are to the right end (your right) of the row and then tell them that’s how many were moved! NOTE: if the marked toothpick ends up on your far right side, then they moved only one. If the marked toothpick is still on the far left, that means they moved all ten toothpicks!
24.THEE PEPPER TRICK
For this trick, you will need some water, some soap, some regular pepper, a dish (not included in this set). Before the performance, secretly rub soap on your fingers. To begin, put some water in a dish, and then put some regular pepper, Ask a volunteer from the audience to try to separate the pepper and the water by hand. Of course it will be impossible. Now when you put your fingers (with soap) in to the water the pepper will magically separate to the edge of the dish.
25.WATER AND ICE
For this trick, you will need a cup, a wand, a sponge, some water and some ice cubes (not included). Before the performance, place the sponge into the cup at the bottom, and put some ice cubes inside the cup on top of the sponge. You need to find a sponge that will fit well in the cup so that it will not fall out when you tilt the cup upside down. To begin, pour a little bit of water in the cup, wave your wand over the cup and say “Hocus-Pocus!”.The water will be soaked and contained in the sponge. Now tilt the cup and pour out the ice cubes. It appears that you have magically turned the water into ice cubes.
26.COLOR VISION
You will need 5 pieces of paper and a pencil for this trick (not included in this set). Before the performance, you will need to secretly write the words red, yellow, green, pink and blue individually on 5 pieces of paper. Now you need to fold up the 5 pieces of paper separately and place them one in each of your pockets located through out your pant, shirt or jacket. You must remember which written color is in which pocket. To begin, you will ask a volunteer to select one of the 5 colors: red, yellow, green, pink and blue; and think about that color he/she chooses in mind. Ask them what color they have selected; when the volunteer tells you the color he/she selected, you will magically pull the correct piece of paper show the color that he/she chose from one of your pockets. Tell him/her that you had magically predicted his/her chosen color.