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| Topic: Silks in a Detergent Box |
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What do you call the silk effect where you place 3 dirty silks in a small detergent box and magically it comes out clean and the box is shown empty, torn and given to the audience? This is quite an old trick and I wish to revive this again. It's a great sucker trick for both kids and adults. A good friend, Paul Potassy just gave it to me last Saturday. |
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It is called "Soft Soap".. I just started using it & enjoy performing it. Charlie |
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Soft Soap it is. Richard |
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There are many versions of this. Some actually use men's cotton hanks instead of silk. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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| There is also a version called Scrub-A-Dub. Same premise but it uses a cloth bag; you don't need to replace the soap box after each show. |
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I had the 'soft soap' that used men's cotton hanks instead of silks. I found it was very hard to use smoothly.. I suggest that anyone who intends to buy this ask before you make a purchase. Pay the extra bucks & get the version using silks.. I am sure Duane Laflin has that version. Just my 2 cents. Charlie |
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This is a good trick for any age group. The routine I use (Spot Out) I bought with the original props and performing rights from Stephon Johnson (Wizards of the Ozarks member) back in the 70s. I'm sure that I have performed it at least 3000 times since then. It uses three different colored 18" silks and every piece of the act was custom made for me except two of the silks. The props (except for boxes) last about 300-500 shows. Just two weeks ago I ordered new props to be made for it. Even the boxes are custom made. I have never liked the commercially produced boxes and they are too small anyway for me to use with these. The box is critical to my routine and patter. A bag would not fit the routine at all. However, I would be the first to admit that the box requirement is the chief hassel to the Spot Out routine I use. Several times I have investigated manufacturing and selling my routine with props. Except for working magicians, the payoff is just not there. (Well, folks you brought me luck! I had to stop writing a minute to catch the phone. My props are ready! Thank You! That is magic.) Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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| What is better? After producing the clean handkerchiefs, do you just unfold the box to show it empty or do you rip the box into pieces and hand it to the audience? Any comments on this matter? |
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I destroy the box. First I tear off the top (my top says "Top") and give to the closest loud person. Now the box has no top or bottom. How can you say it's turned over? After some fun with the audience, I tear it open flat and then into pieces. I give it to the audience. After all these years, I'm still glad when they keep the pieces and sad when I later find pieces of the box left in a seat or in the trash. It probably doesn't mean a thing. I just want them to keep part of the show. Rarely do I find pieces of rope left from my rope routine. Boxes may just be seen as wrappers for something that is gone. If it's an audience really close to the stage (distance will matter) I'll have a note written on the inside of the box that says, "See, I told you it was empty!" If they are far away it just says "Empty" because I can write that larger. (In a really large theater it says nothing because it can't be read by anyone.) My boxes are custom made so they open out flat. I doubt that it could be done with the commercial ones I've seen. Also my boxes are nearly twice the size of the commercial ones I've seen (Duz or Lux). Most people use the commercial boxes. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander James Adamson here on The Café is the one here who sees that routine from me most. You might like his comments since they would be from an entirely different take on it. My soft soap routine is really only like the commercial one by method. The props are in colors and come from the prior trick. I don't stain them to be cleaned. I use a gun in the routine. My routine is really called Spot Out and I bought it from Stephan Johnson (the manipulator) many years ago. It is all custom parts. For years I performed it out west and no one even compared it to Soft Soap. It is a very close sister. Last March I performed it for some cruise ship magicians and did not tear up the box but just opened it flat. (I may have needed it for another show before I got more boxes.) When I apologized after the show to a lady magician of considerable professional magician experience, for not tearing up the box, her comment was, "Oh, Like Soft Soap?" Apparently even many of the pros don't recognize the trick as essentially the same. Audiences see things with their very eyes. And who else has "very" eyes? |
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Hi, I’ve been using soft soap on and off since the late fifties. Around 1980, I put together an anti-nuclear magic show. After a near meltdown, the cooling waters had to be wiped up. Consequently, the three silks had radiation atom symbols and fluorescent green blotches. Try as I may, dressed as a radiation worker, I stuffed the nuked "rags" into a box of "Dupe" the soft-sell soap of the NRC. After a bit of by play, I removed the hanks. The glowing green was gone, but the radiation symbols were still there. I did the showing of the box, with the lid half open. Then I opened both flaps nearest me to appease the crowds demands to open both flaps, etc. After a little more business, I opened the seams (I used the box over and over) glitter rained out over the stage and into the first seats as I ask, "oh, did ya get any on ya? You'll never know...." The box interior was papered with play money and atomic symbols. After all, as I explained, "The costs of nuclear and it's "clean up" go on, and on, and on..." Dr. Solar |
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Nice storyline for "soft soap". Richard |
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Dr. Solar, Do you reuse the deuterium? (That's heavy water for you folks down stream.) Next time I'm around Huntsville, Alabama or Oak Ridge, Tennessee I think I'll try that but end up with three-eared rabbits with long tails on the silks! Should they be in colors? Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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[quote] On 2005-12-06 00:40, Owen Anderson wrote: There is also a version called Scrub-A-Dub. Same premise but it uses a cloth bag; you don't need to replace the soap box after each show. [/quote] In the early 70's, a team of two female Australian magicians, The Top Hats, were performing in the Philippines. During that time the team broke up, I think one of them fell in love. They sold their equipment and my Dad bought some of it for me. One of the effects, which I used a lot, was a self-contained version of Soft Soap where you didn't have to replace the soapbox after each show. Small strips of Velcro lined the sides of the box. After pulling out the cleaned silks you simply "ripped" the box apart, clearly showing it empty. After the show the box was folded back together and held in place by the Velcro, ready for the next show. |
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| Soft Soap is great. I just got, it but recall it from over 30 years ago when I first saw it. |
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What I like most about the colored silk versions is that I can do a red, yellow and green safety program followed in another show by red, white and blue for a flag program. Then seasonally, I can do pink, yellow and purple for Easter; red, green and white for Christmas; and black, orange and yellow for Halloween. The box colors are changed too. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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| I some times do that effect but I use a popcorn dye box. The dye box is extremely cheap made of cardboard and can be bought in Canada for around 5$ |
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[quote] On 2006-02-02 18:01, MagicalOdyssey wrote: I some times do that effect but I use a popcorn dye box. [/quote] For as many as I use that would get very expensive. Even custom made they are cheaper. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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| I am planning to make custom made boxes for this effect. What could be a good label or brand name? "Magic Washing Mashine", "Magic Wash", Any ideas??? |
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Lou, I sent you a PM. Perhaps we could get together on boxes. I'm searching for a new source for my "Spot Out" trick. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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Bob, I forgot to tell you Saturday night that I really enjoyed your Spot Out routine. The silks are much better than the cotton that typically is used and they "disguise" the method much better in my opinion. I thought maybe you manufactured or sold them, but didn't see 'em at your booth. You did a great job with this routine!! (I'm envious! ...he he!) Bob Spray Magic with a Smile |
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| I'll second that - holes and all! Also, it would be fairly easy to attach a computer generated logo to the front of the box with spraymount or glue stick for the super authentic look.............. |
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Thank you gentlemen! You flatter me. Often I have considered offering the props for the routine for sale. In short runs it is dreadfully expensive to make. Since I began doing that routine in the 70s when I lived in Arkansas, I have been through several sets of props. A set lasts about fifty shows before needing repair. There is also the opportunity to have many different color combinations. The box has certainly been an obstacle to making the routine commercially feasible. Being in a "spot" and needing "out" just seems to fit many of my situations in show business! Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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| What are some good routines and patter suggestions for this trick....can you use a change bag instead of the cardboard boxes if you were using it for a kids show? |
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Change bag is how I get to "Spot Out". We are trying to do a flag, Blendo, etc. but when I shoot the the bag full of silks I just get holes in the silks! Thus, "Spot Out" is my solution. We wash the holes out! Then the Blendo works. The by-play with the box is a huge part of the act. I would not give up the box. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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John Mulholland (Book of Magic) used a box to dye silks, rather than wash them. Tommy Windsor's Popcorn Boxes were designed to be used again and again. You can used it to wash or dye a single silk. You can use it in combination with other methods to wash or dye several silks, then wash or dye the one you accidentally dropped. Or you could fix up a soft soap box to be used over and over again. One thing you can do with a Windsor popcorn box that you can't do with other methods that I am familiar with, is to use it for spot remover. Put spot remover labels on the box. In performance, show a silk with dirty spots. Put it in the box. Then take it out. The spots have seen removed and in there place are holes! Does anybody pour a pitcher of sudsy milk-like liquid into the box to wash the hankies? Or do you just "dry clean" them? If memory serves (and mine seemed to serve less and less), Windsor used a pitcher and claimed that you could "use any carton you find laying around the house" or something like that. Hence a popcorn box was as good as any. I don't know if it's still in print, but there as a book of tricks you could do with the Windsor box. I guess there's an obvious Gospel application to soft soap, with or without the liquid. I go a bit further than the obvious application, saying that since we share good news with our friends, even if its a new washday miracle, we should certainly share the good news of Jesus who can wash away or sins. Thom |
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| In my e-Book on Dollar Store Silk Dying Gimmicks (Book 2 on my site) I describe how to make a Soft Soap variation using a box of detergent from a Dollar Store. You can use it to do a series of effects normally only done with expensive prop washing machines, such as put in a child's socks, blue and green, for instance, and when you wash them, they develop holes, then become dotted or striped with the opposite colors, or the colors blend, or the socks shrink or grow, until at last the socks come out clean. I used to work this with handkerchiefs, but kids don't carry handkerchiefs these days, so clothing items work better. For adults, I do the effect with men's neckties. |
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Many good ideas here for that effect! S.Patrick Smith have a nice performance of it in his "Kidology" video! |
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This is a fabulous trick. It is especially useful where you are extremely dependent on visual cues. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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Any idea where to get custom boxes, or even just plain white ones? Thom |
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Thom, I wish you well. This has been a problem for me too and I have handmade my own for several decades. I use Dollar Tree poster board. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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If I was looking for custom or blank boxes for Soft Soap, I might ask Steve Varro at http://www.gospelmagic.com , the company formerly known as Dock Haley Gospel Magic. After all, they produce some custom gospel-themed boxes for this trick -- The All Have Sinned Box and The J.O.Y. Box. I haven't asked Steve personally about custom or blank boxes. It's just a thought. - Donald |
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I, too, have made them out of poster board; but I'm not very good at it. I've also used commercially available popcorn boxes, then cover part of it with computer art. The boxes are getting harder to find; popped popcorn now mostly comes in bags or tubs. Thom . |
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The soft soap boxes are now being made...and in color. [img]https://www.loftus.com/dotsmedia/assets/67572.gif[/img] I can order them... pm me. |
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Magic Ian, What are the dimensions of this box? Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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[img]https://www.loftus.com/dotsmedia/assets/67570.gif[/img] Don't know, but you can get an idea from the picture. The set sells for $15 plus shipping comes with 6 boxes and all the cloths. Normal soft soap sets are $34 Refills are $6 |
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These are the same size as the SPLASH boxes but the cardboard is very flimsy.One must use care when handling them. They tear too easily as well, but the price is good at $1 each. Still prefer the SPLASH boxes. Doc |
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[quote] On 2011-04-10 00:55, Dr. Solar wrote: These are the same size as the SPLASH boxes but the cardboard is very flimsy.One must use care when handling them. They tear too easily as well, but the price is good at $1 each. Still prefer the SPLASH boxes. Doc [/quote] Since this effect is meant to destroy after each performance, tearing the box has not been an issue. If you are re-using the box..then of course. I always do the tear-up convincer. |
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Unless you do tear up the box to prove it is empty at the end of the trick, the trick is compromised for effectiveness. Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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Boxes are available again through member Magicians here on the Magic Café. http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/bb_profile.php?mode=view&user=11617 Bob |
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As a child, I remember seeing a clown perform an effect similar to this where two adult-sized white gloves were used, one by him and one by a boy helping him. Each had a soap box and the gloves were placed inside. After all the 'washing the gloves and using the magic wand to stir it up' byplay, the clown pulled out the glove in his box, which was normal. The child pulled his glove out, but it had shrunk to a much smaller glove. Just out of curiosity - is this an spin-off of Soft Soap or is it something totally different? I assume it goes by a different name, either way. I have done Soft Soap in the past, I can see how that effect can be made to work using Soft Soap as a starting point, but I am just curious. |
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[quote] On 2011-08-15 00:17, Dr_J_Ayala wrote: As a child, I remember seeing a clown perform an effect similar to this where two adult-sized white gloves were used, one by him and one by a boy helping him. Each had a soap box and the gloves were placed inside. After all the 'washing the gloves and using the magic wand to stir it up' byplay, the clown pulled out the glove in his box, which was normal. The child pulled his glove out, but it had shrunk to a much smaller glove. Just out of curiosity - is this an spin-off of Soft Soap or is it something totally different? I assume it goes by a different name, either way. I have done Soft Soap in the past, I can see how that effect can be made to work using Soft Soap as a starting point, but I am just curious. [/quote] I think you are over thinking or wishing for something special. I believe you just described the "Shrinking Glove" that has been on the market for years. The difference is the clown just added some thinking for a different routine that is more then the instant or quick change. Good thinking on his part. Here is a reference to one version of the trick. http://www.spsmagic.com/products.asp?product_id=t060 You did not mention if the clown was wearing the gloves, but that is normally how the gloves are shown to begin with as the same size. |
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[quote] On 2011-08-15 00:39, wmhegbli wrote: [quote] On 2011-08-15 00:17, Dr_J_Ayala wrote: As a child, I remember seeing a clown perform an effect similar to this where two adult-sized white gloves were used, one by him and one by a boy helping him. Each had a soap box and the gloves were placed inside. After all the 'washing the gloves and using the magic wand to stir it up' byplay, the clown pulled out the glove in his box, which was normal. The child pulled his glove out, but it had shrunk to a much smaller glove. Just out of curiosity - is this an spin-off of Soft Soap or is it something totally different? I assume it goes by a different name, either way. I have done Soft Soap in the past, I can see how that effect can be made to work using Soft Soap as a starting point, but I am just curious. [/quote] I think you are over thinking or wishing for something special. I believe you just described the "Shrinking Glove" that has been on the market for years. The difference is the clown just added some thinking for a different routine that is more then the instant or quick change. Good thinking on his part. Here is a reference to one version of the trick. http://www.spsmagic.com/products.asp?product_id=t060 You did not mention if the clown was wearing the gloves, but that is normally how the gloves are shown to begin with as the same size. [/quote] I will say that I do remember it very accurately as to how it was performed because it was that one particular effect that really sparked my interest in magic when I was a child. Not sure why, but it did. You are right in that the clown was wearing the gloves from the start of the show, and up until the time at which that effect was performed. I just never really looked up the routine before, so I was not sure if it was his own or if it was a marketed effect, a spin-off of one, etc. I did however like his premise of washing the glove in a soap box to make it shrink. Very good thinking indeed! Thanks for the information William! |
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| Well if this is from your childhood, it may not be the Shrinking Glove, as this has only been on the market since the late 80's or early 90's. It may be something totally different. |
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[quote] On 2011-08-15 11:29, wmhegbli wrote: Well if this is from your childhood, it may not be the Shrinking Glove, as this has only been on the market since the late 80's or early 90's. It may be something totally different. [/quote] It very well may be the Shrinking Glove - I am not 30 yet. |
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OJ used the shrinking glove during the murder trial too! It worked! Bob |
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| I believe Peter Pitt used it quite often. Great trick. One of my favorite 'sucker' effects. |
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Surprise! After just 32 years, this month I reconnected with the magician who set me up with the version of Soft Soap I have used all these years. It is fantastic for audiences that either can't hear or do not speak your language. (Today that also includes children and old folks! LOL) Bob Sanders Magic By Sander |
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[quote] On 2011-04-07 16:25, magicians wrote: The soft soap boxes are now being made...and in color. [img]https://www.loftus.com/dotsmedia/assets/67572.gif[/img] I can order them... pm me. [/quote] Finally got a version using silks with this box, and just had to laugh..."80 loads per box." Oh wait...it's "32 loads." Hope the proofreader didn't double as the chemist for this detergent :) |
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This is still one of my favorite routines that has no language barriers if you can act at all. I combine it with What's New to leave me clean. Bob PS --- I make my boxes from colored posterboard. |
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Old classics are so versatile until the routines never seem to end. Currently I am retooling one of these old Soft Soap (I call mine Spot Out.)routines in white to use teeth (drawn on the silks) to clean dirty teeth like new for the 16 dental theme shows I have in February for Dental Health Month. Valentines, also in February, will be themed around mending broken hearts. Of course in October everything is themed around Halloween with Orange, Black and Gold. How do the rest of you use color changes and artwork to fit seasonal themes with Soft Soap? It may take some planning ahead, but it is worth it. |
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| Stempleton: There's only 32 loads per box if you want your clothes "Amazing clean in only one wash" but 80 loads if you don't care whether they get amazingly clean in just one wash! |
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[quote] On 2007-04-03 23:22, Robert Kohler wrote: I'll second that - holes and all! Also, it would be fairly easy to attach a computer generated logo to the front of the box with spraymount or glue stick for the super authentic look.............. [/quote] With home printers, you can buy thin cardboard and run it through your machine and print it. I don't know the sizes so it might not work. A printer might print out a large size with a few boxes on one large sheet. Buying in bulk might keep the price down, but check out their prices to see if it will be possible to do it this way. |
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| I get two boxes for each piece of posterboard. The printed parts are glued to the boxes. |
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| Soft Soap, popcorn box. Etc. It's an easy gimmick..same as paper bag trick in Mark Wilson's Encyclopedia. |
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The advantage of using real detergent boxes from the Dollar Store is that when you open them in front of the audience, they actually contain detergent powder which you pour out into a wastebasket because "you prefer to wash your clothes by magic." If you line the small wastebasket with a plastic bag, the soap powder doesn't go to waste. Take it home for your laundry. Anyway, Spellbinder has several versions of this in his Dollar Store Magic Book 2 on Silk Dying, but I also have an impromptu version included in my Kid Show Magic "Happy Clappy Whacky Wizard Washing Machine" e-Book. I describe a camping trip in which the Wiz Kids lost some of their performing props in a rainstorm (more like a flood) and were still able to perform using this impromptu version and some detergent boxes from the Dollar Store. The method is described in the e-Book. However, the point I want to make is not about the boxes but in using a perfectly good washing routine on silk handkerchiefs. To me, the trick only makes sense if you can take a kid from the audience and wash his socks, t-shirt and the underpants from a Professor Cheer's rope trick and have them shrink, develop holes, and so on. There's not much fun in dying silk handkerchiefs, but when you do it with actual clothing, it is extremely funny, especially to an audience of kids. |
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This is a fantastic effect. I constructed my version of it from an effect called "Magic Dye" from a Henry Hay book (I believe). It changed three white silks into three colored silks, and gave excellent instructions for making your own gimmicked silk and box. It really is exceptionally easy to make your own boxes. I have often debated in my mind as to whether it is better with a gimmicked silk, or if it is more deceptive using a tube with a thumb loop to remove the load behind the transformed silks. The latter certainly make it easier to show each transformed silk openly without risk of exposing the gimmick. If there are any Gospel performers out there, write me. I have an excellent routine with this for presenting the Gospel of Christ. Blessings! Stephon |
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Stephon, I hope Lucy and I get to see you at the Cavalcade of Magic at the end of March. Bob |
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[quote] On 2013-01-20 21:18, ummer21 wrote: Soft Soap, popcorn box. Etc. It's an easy gimmick..same as paper bag trick in Mark Wilson's Encyclopedia. [/quote] Really? Are you sure? |
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Not the same method as the popcorn box AT ALL! The box is NOT GIMMICKED! |
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Bob, It would be fun to attend, but I do not have that weekend off. Has it been a year already since Cavalcade? Wow! I hope it is a smash success! |
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[quote]On Apr 3, 2007, Robert Kohler wrote: I'll second that - holes and all! Also, it would be fairly easy to attach a computer generated logo to the front of the box with spraymount or glue stick for the super authentic look.............. [/quote] OKAY that's SOMETHING NEW HERE |
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[quote]On Jan 7, 2020, max mariner wrote: [quote]On Apr 3, 2007, Robert Kohler wrote: I'll second that - holes and all! Also, it would be fairly easy to attach a computer generated logo to the front of the box with spraymount or glue stick for the super authentic look.............. [/quote] OKAY that's SOMETHING NEW HERE [/quote] --------------- RX Marine was established in 1996 in Mumbai, India; as chemical manufacturing company catering exclusively to the needs of the marine industry. In a short span of 12 years the company has established itself as one of the leading wholesale suppliers of a wide range of chemicals for - Marine industry internationally - and other local industires and plants. Our client list bears testimony to this. The RXSOL policy has its foundations on two pillars of strength - a continuous investment in research and development to deliver premium quality products and a commitment to service. ------------------- [url=http://rxmarine.com/Natural-Blue-Biodegradable-Cleaner-Degreaser] Degreaser [/url] |
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| I debuted a new handling 2 months ago. Ungaffed silks, and ungaffed carton. Felt pretty nice to end clean and examinable. |