sleight of hand – Page 2

Sponge Bunnies

Last year around easter I had the idea to make sponge bunnies out that look like the Marshmallow Peeps.

I bought this pack of them last year and I just got around to trying to make a set. The first step was to make a mold of them.

I started to make the mold using actual Peep’s, but unfortunately it was a failure. I think the sugar or some ingredient of the Peep didn’t play well with the mold material.

I’m going to give it another try, but I think I’ll have to make the Peep’s out of clay and then make a mold of that. Hopefully it will be sooner than another year before I make another attempt!

-Louie

Blankety Blank Blank Blank by Ken Driscol

Here’s a packet trick that I found in a junk magic bin. It’s a twisting the aces style effect with the backs turning blank at the end.

There are a couple of things that I didn’t like about the trick. The big thing with this style of twisting routine is no one really shows all the backs at first. This is easily accomplished with a Flustration Count and half pass. I think the surprise of the blank cards at the end is more amazing when the audience feels like they’ve seen the 4 regular backs.

-Louie

Air Tag Magic Trick!

A few weeks ago I was hanging out with some magicians before the Justin Willman show in Seattle. One of the props we were jamming with was an Apple Air Tag. Here’s one of the more visually interesting things:

@louiefoxx AirTag Hack! #airtag #appleairtag ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

It’s an obvious trick to do with an AirTag, but the name lends itself to the trick. This is a trick I’ve wanted to do with an AirTag, but I stopped doing the muscle pass in 2020 and can’t do it anymore. Sure I could probably play with it for a week and relearn it, but I don’t really have a need for it anymore.

If you can muscle pass, this is a great and easy trick with a borrowed AirTag!

-Louie

Yeah, Don’t Punch Me

Last month when I was performing roving magic at a fair, I had an interesting interaction with a family. A guy approaches me and asks me if I would show his family a magic trick. Of course I said YES, then he said, “I’m not going to watch because I’ll probably get frustrated and punch you.” Then he looked away and his family had a great time watching some close up magic.

I personally thought it was really cool of him to give his family a moment to see a magic trick. I should add that the guy looked like he’d punched a few people in his lifetime. I’m glad he knew his personal limitations and didn’t put himself in a position where he would punch me!

I mentioned this to another performer who was shocked at how “violent” and inappropriate this guy was. I look at this like someone who had a problem with alcohol not wanting to see me do a show at a bar. This guy wanted his family to have fun, even if it was something he wasn’t into. Did he need to tell my why he wasn’t watching? Probably not, but I would have wondered why he asked, then didn’t watch…and probably would have tried to engage him (and gotten punched!)

-Louie

Shell Game Set (Homemade?)

I just added a new shell game set to my collection:

I’m pretty sure this was a home made set, as they look like nothing I’ve ever seen. The look like they started as candle snuffers, and someone took the stick off of them and glued a bearing over the hole. I like their weight, but don’t like how tall they are. The height and strange shape makes working with them a bit awkward.

They’re a great addition to the collection, but won’t replace my working set!

-Louie

Coin Transposition Routine

I’m still tweaking my routine with the Craig Petty’s Apparition Coin set. I was trying to eliminate the phases that use the coin purse. I ended up with a three phase routine, however it lacked the punch of the four phase routine that had the coin purse. Once I put the coin purse back in, it immediately was getting better reactions.

Here’s what the routine looks like:

I think the first phase is like a “flash opener” to a stage act. It’s a great visual moment, and sets people up for the transpositions that they are about to see. I’m glad I tested it both ways and have found the best way to do the routine!

-Louie

Apparition Coin Set

When I was at Stevens Magic Emporium a few weeks ago and picked up Craig Petty’s Apparition coin set, it got me doing coin magic again. For some reason I had stopped doing it in my close up set. One of the reasons that I had stopped was pocket space, there’s not a neat way to keep four silver dollars and a shell in your pocket along with everything else I need in my pockets.

The thing that getting the Apparition set got me to do was use a coin purse. Honestly, I’m against using a coin purse, as it’s not something that people see anymore. It might as well be a change bag, it resembles something older people see.

Think about it, when was the last time you saw someone use a coin purse that wasn’t a magician?

The Apparition coin set is a neat little bundle in my pocket, so I needed to figure out how to justify the coin purse. Then it hit me, it was one simple line, “This is my Nana’s coin purse, can you guess what’s inside?”

That’s it.

That line solved the problem, now it’s not a strange prop.

I will say that as I’ve been using the gaffed coins, I’ve really phased out using the coin purse as a gimmick and it’s simply a holder for the coins. I think I’m going to go out and find a cool, vintage coin purse for my current coin routine to give it a bit more character.

-Louie

Coin Transposition

I’m working on a coin transpostion, it’s essentially something that I used to do a long time ago. I was inspired to play with it again after getting Craig Petty’s Apparition. This two phase routine uses just the two coins (and a shell).

The effect is a silver dollar and an Asian coin with a hole in it change places. First in your hands and the second time with one in your hand and one in someone from the audience’s hand.

Here’s the routine:

This is my Nana’s coin purse, do you know what’s inside it?

That’s right coins! I had a kid say, “your nana”…That’d be messed up if I just poured out her ashes.

There’s a silver dollar. That’s Dwight Eisenhower, he was a four start general, the 34th president of the United States and he did all of that while bald!

This is an ancient Asian token, it dates back to the Nintendo Dynasty. It says, “Our princess is in another castle”.

The Asian token goes in this hand and like the movie Freaky Friday, they change places!

Here you hang onto the coins. I’m going to take one from your hand…it’s the silver dollar.

Fist bump!

I’ve got the Asian token and you have…

…The silver dollar!

I feel like this needs a third phase. It’s a great two phase routine, but feels unfinished. I might play with adding a one coin routine to the end of it. That may give it a sense of closure.

-Louie

Make it Memorable!

When I do TV spots, I try do more than just a magic trick, I try to make it a moment that’s memorable. Sure you can do sponge balls and it’s fine, however I try to do things that are fun.

Here’s an example from a media spot a few weeks ago:

@louiefoxx News Reporter Hustled with Classic Con Game! #reporter #game #gambling #congame #cantwin #pushups #shellgame #hustle #newsreporter #louiefoxx #sleightofhand #payyourdebts #magic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

It’s not always possible to do more memorable or fun spots due to time, or other circumstances. However, when I get a chance to do a little bit of planning, I try to do something fun!

-Louie

Queen Ace Transpo!

It feels like it’s taking me for ever to get through the Vallarino book!

One of the tricks in the transposition section is an Queen / Ace Transposition. I think JP Vallarino made it a little too complex. Here’s my streamlined version of it:

@louiefoxx Fast Card Trick! #fourqueens #fouraces #cardtrick #magictrick @bicyclecardsofficial #louiefoxx #jpvallarino #vallarino #vanishinginc #magicbook #cardmagic #sleightofhand ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

It’s a super quick swap of the two packets. It’d be a good transition bit, it’s not a full routine on it’s own.

-Louie