Hello guys and gals,
So, I as the title says, I want to tell you a story. I'll try to keep it as short as possible but I'm not making any promises.
I was sat with my niece, twiddling my thumbs whilst she was putting her new Frozen stickers on a poster, when right on cue she turns to me and asks if I can show her some magic. Naturally I oblige, we have a good time, then right as I am putting the cards away she says, "Wouldn't it be cool if they did magic card stickers!"
Later that day I am sat at home, deck in hand, trying to decide what to perform when she inevitably asks again the next day to see some magic. Then it hits me, yes it would be cool if there were magic card stickers. So I grab my "for spares" deck and a can of ReMount and get to work.
The next day, "Can you show me some magic?" I grab my deck and go into a fun little ambitious routine, only the last time the card doesn't come to the top. I play it off and make a ton of stupid magical gestures, nothing, still no card on top. I tell her "I must have done something wrong, I think I'm going to have to practice some more, but it's ok because for now I can just cheat." I take the top card and place it in her hand, tell her to focus real hard and then boom, snap of the fingers and "It's done." She looks at the card, looks at me, then back at the card and says "No, it's still the Jack of Spades, it's supposed to be the 5 of hearts." I pause, then say "No, it's the 5, you're not looking at it right." at which point I peel away the Jack, revealing the 5. "See, it's the 5."
Cue hysterical laughter, running around and screaming "He turned it into a sticker on top of the 5!" After a few minutes she calmed down, came back and asked how I did it and could I do it again. I reminded her that "it is dangerous to do the same magic twice in a row" but that just this once I would show her. So I took a card from the pack, put it face up in her hand again and said "You have to focus really hard, we're going to change the red so focus really hard on changing the red, and then you just.." and I snapped my fingers. "Now check it." She tried to peel away the face of the card but there is nothing to peel away. As she is showing me I say "Oh....it has a red back...I wonder if..." and in a flash she is grabbing at the corner again, trying to peel it away and does, revealing now a blue back. More screaming, more running around showing everyone.
Eventually she calms down and comes to sit back down, by which point I have put the deck down. "Uncle, can I look at your cards?" Sure, I have no problem with that. For probably the next half an hour, possibly longer, she is sat very quietly, holding 1 card at a time, focussing really hard and snapping her fingers. Obviously nothing happens and when she finally gives up she comes to me a little disheartened and says "I did what you said but I can't get it to work." to which I reply, "Did it not? Oh that must be because you used up your magic on the one that we did together. Remember I told you, because you are young your magic powers aren't very strong but as you get older they will get stronger." I pick up the cards from earlier, and the "stickers" and give them to her, saying "I've got an idea...you could pretend." Together we carefully put the stickers back and for the rest of the day she is showing everyone how she can do magic and turn magic cards into stickers, not being able to resist afterwards telling each person "I just tricked you. I'm only pretending to do magic, I can't do real magic like Uncle until I am older."
The night before, when I remembered what she had said about magic card stickers and I had the "a-ha" of what to do, I figured it was something simple and silly, that she might immediately know what I was doing, and at best it would get a few giggles. In reality it was hands down the best magical moment since I have been performing magic for her, there have been a lot of amazing moments, but nothing compared to this.
I love this for so many obvious reasons, but also because it helped remind me that the magic is in the mind of the spectator, it doesn't matter if I think something is cool or if I think it is simple, what matters is what the spectator thinks. Too often I get caught up in the cool new thing or wanting complicated and fancy ways to do things, forgetting that none of that matters, all that matters is the magic.
If you read this far then congratulations and thanks. Hope you enjoyed.
So, I as the title says, I want to tell you a story. I'll try to keep it as short as possible but I'm not making any promises.
I was sat with my niece, twiddling my thumbs whilst she was putting her new Frozen stickers on a poster, when right on cue she turns to me and asks if I can show her some magic. Naturally I oblige, we have a good time, then right as I am putting the cards away she says, "Wouldn't it be cool if they did magic card stickers!"
Later that day I am sat at home, deck in hand, trying to decide what to perform when she inevitably asks again the next day to see some magic. Then it hits me, yes it would be cool if there were magic card stickers. So I grab my "for spares" deck and a can of ReMount and get to work.
The next day, "Can you show me some magic?" I grab my deck and go into a fun little ambitious routine, only the last time the card doesn't come to the top. I play it off and make a ton of stupid magical gestures, nothing, still no card on top. I tell her "I must have done something wrong, I think I'm going to have to practice some more, but it's ok because for now I can just cheat." I take the top card and place it in her hand, tell her to focus real hard and then boom, snap of the fingers and "It's done." She looks at the card, looks at me, then back at the card and says "No, it's still the Jack of Spades, it's supposed to be the 5 of hearts." I pause, then say "No, it's the 5, you're not looking at it right." at which point I peel away the Jack, revealing the 5. "See, it's the 5."
Cue hysterical laughter, running around and screaming "He turned it into a sticker on top of the 5!" After a few minutes she calmed down, came back and asked how I did it and could I do it again. I reminded her that "it is dangerous to do the same magic twice in a row" but that just this once I would show her. So I took a card from the pack, put it face up in her hand again and said "You have to focus really hard, we're going to change the red so focus really hard on changing the red, and then you just.." and I snapped my fingers. "Now check it." She tried to peel away the face of the card but there is nothing to peel away. As she is showing me I say "Oh....it has a red back...I wonder if..." and in a flash she is grabbing at the corner again, trying to peel it away and does, revealing now a blue back. More screaming, more running around showing everyone.
Eventually she calms down and comes to sit back down, by which point I have put the deck down. "Uncle, can I look at your cards?" Sure, I have no problem with that. For probably the next half an hour, possibly longer, she is sat very quietly, holding 1 card at a time, focussing really hard and snapping her fingers. Obviously nothing happens and when she finally gives up she comes to me a little disheartened and says "I did what you said but I can't get it to work." to which I reply, "Did it not? Oh that must be because you used up your magic on the one that we did together. Remember I told you, because you are young your magic powers aren't very strong but as you get older they will get stronger." I pick up the cards from earlier, and the "stickers" and give them to her, saying "I've got an idea...you could pretend." Together we carefully put the stickers back and for the rest of the day she is showing everyone how she can do magic and turn magic cards into stickers, not being able to resist afterwards telling each person "I just tricked you. I'm only pretending to do magic, I can't do real magic like Uncle until I am older."
The night before, when I remembered what she had said about magic card stickers and I had the "a-ha" of what to do, I figured it was something simple and silly, that she might immediately know what I was doing, and at best it would get a few giggles. In reality it was hands down the best magical moment since I have been performing magic for her, there have been a lot of amazing moments, but nothing compared to this.
I love this for so many obvious reasons, but also because it helped remind me that the magic is in the mind of the spectator, it doesn't matter if I think something is cool or if I think it is simple, what matters is what the spectator thinks. Too often I get caught up in the cool new thing or wanting complicated and fancy ways to do things, forgetting that none of that matters, all that matters is the magic.
If you read this far then congratulations and thanks. Hope you enjoyed.
