Pictures – MagicShow.Tips

Buried Treasure Bean Box by Arturo

On my trip to the Bay Area a couple weeks ago, I ended up picking up a great vintage magic prop! It was Buried Treasure Bean Box by Arturo. Here’s what the original ads looked like:

And here’s what mine looks like:

This is a prop that I do plan to use in my show. I have an idea for it, so when the opportunity to buy it popped up, I jumped on it!

I really like the idea of the item being buried in beans (or whatever). The problem with this is visually it’s hard for an audience to see what’s going on because you have to see the beans from the top. With a camera, this would work great!

-Louie

Why You Should Visit Your Magic Club

Whenever I travel, if the local magic club is meeting, I do my best to swing by and visit. Last week, I was in the area when the Northwest Ring of Fire magic club had their meeting. I think the last time I visited this magic club was about three years ago.

Magic clubs are a great way to speed up learning magic, because you can ask questions, get answers, and see things that you can’t over the internet.

When I was a kid getting seriously into magic, the local magic club was a HUGE resource for me and really helped me grow, being able to see things performed with my own eyes! It helped me learn what styles of performing magic I liked and didn’t like. That’s something that’s hard to do if you want to do a long form, in person show by just watching internet videos.

Go out and visit your local magic club!

-Louie

Vanishing Birdcage in the Wild

Here’s another real bird cage in the style of the vanishing birdcage that I found in the wild at a restaurant in Chicago!

This is just more proof that the vanishing birdcages once actually looked like something in real life!

-Louie

Easy Magic Trick Prop Management

One of the things that I think is interesting is how different magicians keep their props in their prop cases. I’m not referring to how they are in the case when set for the show, but for traveling in between shows.

Years ago, I heard about how Billy McComb had a different Ziploc bag for each routine.

A Better System for Storing Magic Tricks

I’ve used Ziploc bags, but recently found these hard sided cases. I think they’re sold as make up cases.

I bought them as a prop for a routine idea that I have, but realized the other day that they’d be perfect for travelling with props. They’ll protect the props a little bit, but I can see into them, so I know exactly what’s in each case.

I just did my first week with these, and I’m really liking them. The next thing will be to make a list of what goes into each box and write it on the box.

Here’s another example prop management from a vintage magic box that I found!

I’m a big fan of these cases and they’re cheap!

-Louie

Color Test Idea

This is an idea for a “chair test” or “color match” sort of effect. You have four boxes, each with a different colored interior. Then you have four cards with a different color. The cards are mixed up and one is put face down in each box. The colors match the interior of the box they were set in!

Method: Use four card switching boxes.

That’s a simple and direct method that’s 100% surefire!

I think if I were going to do this trick, I would have one more card than I have boxes. That would make opening the last box a bit more dramatic as there could be a failure at that point, instead of it being a known result.

-Louie

Out of Town Shipping Note

**The daily blog will continue to be updated below this notice**

I will be out of town performing across the USA from July 7th to July 13th 2026. That means no orders of physical items will ship until I return on July 13th, 2026.

Digital items will still be emailed during this time!

You can also get many of my magic products from TrickSupply.com in Las Vegas. You can order my magic from them at:
https://tricksupply.com/product-category/louie-foxx/

**The daily blog will continue to be updated below this notice**

Magic Trick That No One Asked For

Oh man, this ad for a magic prop came through my social media feed. It’s a power bank that’s decorated like a deck of cards.

That’s it.

In theory you can use it to secretly charge someone’s phone by touching it to a deck of cards. This doesn’t really pass the “walk to the car test”.

The walk to the car test, is if people on their walk to the car try to figure out how the trick works, can they?

I’m thinking that most people would draw a straight line from the deck of card that the phone was set on top of to the charging of the phone.

OK, here’s the demo video:

If you pay attention to the video, you’ll notice that it only charges 1% more than the phone already had! If I had magic and could charge your phone, it wouldn’t be just 1%!

I think it’s a fun idea for a power bank that’s “on brand” for magicians, just like a tie with playing cards on it. However, as an actual trick, it feels like a money grab versus a good idea for a trick.

-Louie

The Magic Garage!

Whenever I’m in the San Francisco area, I pop by the Magic Garage! It’s a great hangout with a bunch of magicians.

While I was there I did my Nest of Envelopes trick that I’m working on and got some great feedback!

Having a room full of magicians to give you ideas, or tell you that something doesn’t look right, is worth its weight in gold!

Things like this or magic clubs are great ways to get feedback on things you’re working on. I’m a huge fan of magic clubs, and I think everyone should go to them. They helped me out a lot when I was younger!

-Louie

Vanishing Birdcage!

Here’s the newest addition to my vanishing birdcage collection.

This is the first vanishing birdcage in my collection that has the perch go the long way across the cage. This vanishing birdcage has the spoon (sleeve guard) still attached, that’s something that’s frequently broken off of these older cages.

This one had been damages and had a repair:

Unfortunately this cage’s repair is bent, so it’s currently an non-functional cage. I’m scared to try to bend it back. I don’t want to undo the repair and end up with a broken cage.

This is a great addition to the collection!

-Louie

Film Can Refurbishing

The film cans that I use for my Film Can Dice Force aren’t made anymore. They still make film cans, but the ones currently made don’t work for the gimmick. I have to source mine on the “used film can market”.

The last batch that I got were super beat up and I had to refurbish(?) them. The can on the left is what they look like when I got them:

The middle can is after I gave them a wipe down, and the can on the right is after I buffed them with my Dremel! The amount of labor that goes into making the Film Can Dice Forces is way too much for what I charge for them!

-Louie