I have discovered that - although I thought of it independently - the idea of using a kid's shoe in a routine is prehistoric. Anyway, that said, I want to do the following:

1. Get a boy up on stage and offer to clean one of his shoes
2. Put his shoe in a magic "machine" which destroys it (smoke, watch winders etc)
3. Offer to put it right - but it accidentally changes into a pink sparkley girl's shoe
4. Finally get it right: the original shoe is restored (perhaps in an impossible location, say nest of boxes)

Any ideas how this might be achieved?

I know Jim Gerrish has plans for something similar, but I don't think it's what I'm looking for. Oh, and did I add - I dislike stuff which "only fools the kids".

Ok, o, I know it's a tall order, but any suggestions (for any bit of it) are welcome!

A boy's shoe is about the same size as a dove. From there it seems straightfoward given the magic shop items readily available which can be redecorated.

Just for the record, Jim Gerrish's O.O.P.S. machine is as follows

1. Get a boy up on stage and offer to clean one of his sneakers (kids rarely wear shoes these days)

2. Put his sneaker or shoe in a whacky invention homemade invention box which destroys it (smoke, flashing lights, bells, whistles and whatever else you want to add )

3. Offer to put it right - but it the kid refuses every shoe you offer in exchange, pink sparkly girl's shoe, an elf shoe left over from Christmas, a ballet slipper, a huge clown shoe and anything else you can think of.

4. The kid has refiused all your crazy shoes, so you read the guarantee and the last resort is to take him out to lunch. So you pull out a big brown bag to see what's for lunch. From the nag you remove all kinds of foam food props, and fionally smell something so bad it makes you gag. You reach into the bag with pincers and remove the kid's original sneaker/shoe completely unharmed.

Cost to make - about $10 for the box plus a little extra for all the gee-gaws you add to the routine. Make it in one weekend from hardboard and duct tape (where do you think Jim Gerrish got the idea for his Hardboard and Duct Tape Magic Show books?).

OR you can pay a couple of hundred dollars for a Wiz Kote machine, which accomplishes pretty much the same routine with a nice shiney box prop.