Shaker Magic
by Professor Spellbinder
Before you buy any of
these Dollar Store instructions, go to your local Dollar Store
(Quid Store in the U.K.) and make sure you can get the
ingredients. Not all Dollar Stores are alike and you may have to
hunt through several to find just what you need to make these
magic props. To find out what you need to buy for each effect,
click on the "Info" button or the photo beside each
item.
You’ll need a variety of clear plastic shakers. Don't
just look for traditional shakers- toothpick holders can make
excellent shakers, and sugar shakers can be made from clear
canisters of all types. Check for parmesan cheese in clear
plastic bottles for another source of large shakers. How much you
can make depends on how many different sizes and types you can
collect.
The article will show you how to gimmick a plastic saltshaker
to use as an aid to coin routines, making coins vanish, appear,
and being able to perform a complete Miser's Dream routine with
the help of an innocent looking salt or pepper shaker.
Coin Magic Saltshaker:
As an easy starter project, let’s make a Magic Saltshaker
(but it could also be used to hold silver glitter) for close-up
coin magic while sitting or standing at a table in a restaurant.
You place a coin in your hand, pick up the saltshaker and
sprinkle on a bit of salt before making the coin vanish. Then,
having plainly shown both hands empty, you pick up a pinch of
salt and change it into not just one but several coins. This can
also evolve into a Miser's Dream.
Penetration Shaker:
The salt is either completely dumped out of a salt shaker, or
partially dumped to make the shaker at least half empty. The top
is screwed back on. Show a quarter and have it marked. Slam the
salt shaker on top of the quarter and suddenly the marked quarter
appears inside the shaker (on top of the salt, if you left some
inside the shaker). It is removed and handed back to the
spectator to verify that it is, in fact, the same quarter.
Sometimes You Just Get Lucky:
That’s the name of this trick, because it’s true and I
did get lucky when I found a Dollar Store toothpick holder that
LOOKED like a salt shaker, and also found a saltshaker that would
nest inside it. I REALLY got lucky because the top of the
toothpick holder JUST fit over the saltshaker top. Therefore,
with no cutting or gluing, I have an INSTANT salt pour act. Is
that luck, or what? All is explained in the article, and if
you're not as lucky as I was in finding shakers just the right
size, I show you how to make the trick from scratch.
Pick-A-Pick:
The toothpick holder shown in the top photo has the top removed
and spectators take turns choosing a toothpick from it in an
effort to win $100 by selecting the long toothpick. The performer
wins every time.
Changing Salt Shaker:
Salt changes to Pepper- or even to a white silk, if you choose.
Candy Maker:
A sugar canister supplies the sugar and the gimmick to magically
transform a pinch of sugar and salt into a whole batch of salt
water taffy cooked up in a borrowed hat.
Very Cheesey!
A plastic shaker of parmesean cheese enters into the arena of
spaghetti magic or even ravioli magic (Jolly Roger's Ridiculous Ravioli could use a
pinch of this stuff!). Have the kids sing "On Top of
Spaghetti" and when you all sneeze at the end, dozens of
superball "meatballs" come cascading out of nowhere
onto your spaghetti, onto the floor, and some even try to roll
out of the door. With Jolly Roger's Ridiculous Ravioli, your load
could consist of even more spring snakes, or just to be
different, produce dessert in the form of a Hot Fudge Sundae,
complete with cherry!