Magic Trading Cards Back of Room Sales Idea

I use several helpers in my shows making Magic Trading Cards the perfect volunteer gift.  Originally I was giving away a full pack of all 12 cards to each helper and pitching the product at the end of my show.  I use these for family shows where parents are present with money on hand.  Eventually I realized that I could give away a single card to each helper making the full set even more valuable as well as adding the potential sale to my stage helpers.

When its time to reward the helpers I show the card they will receive and give the name of the trick.  I may say a word or two about how much I like the specific trick.  I use an average of ten helpers in each show so my cost for all giveaways is less than $1.

At the end of my show I bring up one more child and perform some of the tricks I will be selling back of the room.  That lucky child receives all the tricks as a gift as well as the FULL SET of trading cards.  The value of the FULL SET makes a stronger impact because the other helpers only received one card.  This also means the on stage helpers who received one card are now potential customers to buy a set.  Most children can afford a dollar making it the perfect back of room product for almost any venue.

Find out more about the trading cards at

http://www.barrymitchellproducts.com/store/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=magic-trading-cards

Invisible Gift Box & The Power of Influence

Idea by Eddie Brittain written by Barry Mitchell

Props
Barry Mitchell’s Magic Box and the Fruit of the Spirit silks.  The Magic Box is Barry’s version of a light and heavy box made of clear plexiglass.  The method is not described here but the effect is available at www.barrymitchellproducts.com

Preset
Place the fruit silks inside the box and have it ready to show.

Presentation
The Bible says that when we accept Christ we receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus.  Along with that gift we also receive the Holy Spirit.  It’s like receiving an invisible gift box.  You can see there is something inside my box.  (Show Magic Box on tray with Fruit of the Spirit silks inside.)  It’s some of the benefits of our gift of salvation.

In Galations 5 we learn about living in the Spirit.  The fruit of the Spirit is (Show silks as you describe the fruit in any way you wish.  Replace silks in box when finished.) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

We carry these gifts with us everywhere we go.  They may be hidden from view (Cover box with cloth.) in our invisible gift box but the fruit of the Spirit is visible to other through our actions.

These gifts are powerful but today I want to show you something else that may exert power over us if we allow it.  It’s the power of influence.  I’ll need some helpers.  (Choose three helpers, a child and a male and female adult.)

I want you (The child.) to play the part of Mr. Christian.  You represent everyone that has accepted the free gift of eternal life through Jesus.  This is your invisible box of fruit of the Spirit.  You have the power to lift this box and use your gifts at any time.  The power is so strong you can lift the box with your little pinky.  Go ahead and try.  (Allow helper to lift the box off tray without the cloth cover in place.)

However, you are surrounded by influences on every side.  Some are positive (Point to lady.) and some are negative. (Point to gentleman.)  I’ll hide your invisible box with this cloth.  It’s the same as our everyday lives because our gifts are hidden until we use them.  I’m going to ask our positive influence to place her hand on your shoulder.  Her influence gives you strength to use your gifts all day long.  Please lift the box.  (Allow child helper to lift the box off the tray.  The method for the Magic Box is described within the directions of the trick, which is available from www.barrymitchellproducts.com)  Excellent.  Some examples of positive influences might be daily Bible study, prayer time, and surrounding ourselves with Christian friends.  A positive influence will always give you a lift.  Miss Positive will you show everyone.  (Allow lady to lift box off tray.)

But on the other side is Mr. Negative.  Please place your hand on Mr. Christian’s shoulder.  Mr. Negative will weaken your desire to follow God and enjoy the gifts.  Please pick up the box now.  (Child will be unable to lift box.)  It seems strange that the touch of a negative influence can be so powerful.  Mr. Negative is always there trying to tell you that you’re not worthy of God’s gift, you’re too bad of a person, and God doesn’t really love you.  Mr. Negative is an example of how negative thinking can weaken us.  Mr. Negative would you life the box please.  (Allow adult to try to lift the box but he is unable.)  You see, even Mr. Negative who thinks he is strong enough to lift the box can’t do it.

But there’s power in the influence of God’s word and positive relationships.  Miss Positive please place your hand on Mr. Christian’s shoulder again.  Mr. Christian give it a lift.  (Child lifts box off tray.)  Wow, that’s the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Milk of Human Kindness

By Mark Winter

Mark was nice enough to share another routine using our Mother of All Diamonds Aqua Change Vase.

You’ll Need:
The Mother of All Diamonds trick available from www.BarryMitchellProducts.com

Foo can (a utility item available from most magic dealers. The foo can resembles a miniature pitcher with a hidden well on the inside to catch liquids, making the can appear empty. When you tip the foo can from the other side, liquid “magically” pours out)

Super Oom, also known as Miracle Milk available from www.BarryMitchellProducts.com

White flutterfetti, available from www.flutterfetti.com

Preparation:
Load flutterfetti into the bottom of the goblet that comes with the Mother of All Diamonds and place gimmick over top. Mix oom with water and pour into foo can. Place tube from Mother of All Diamonds to the side.

Patter:
Once upon a time, there was a man who felt empty inside. (Show empty goblet) The reason he felt this way is because everywhere he looked, he saw people being mean and cruel to each other. He believed that the milk of human kindness had dried up (tip foo can over goblet so that no milk comes out)…so the man went on a search to see if he could find the milk of human kindness.

First he went to the wise man of the meadow and said, “Oh, wise man of the meadow, I am on the search for the milk of human kindness because everywhere I look, it has dried up. People are being mean and cruel to each other. Please, can you tell me where to find the milk of human kindness?” The wise man of the meadow thought about that for a moment. He blinked his wise grey eyes and stroked his long, grey, wise beard and in a very wise voice said (in a goofy voice): “Yes, I believe that you can find the milk of human kindness in the dairy section at 7-11!”

Well, that didn’t sound right to the man. So he went to the wise man of the hill and said, “Oh, wise man of the hill, I am on the search for the milk of human kindness because everywhere I look, it has dried up. People are being mean and cruel to each other.  (Tip foo can) Please, can you tell me where to find the milk of human kindness?” The wise man of the hill thought about that for a moment. He blinked his wise grey eyes and stroked his long, grey, wise beard and in a very wise voice said (in another goofy voice): “Yes, I believe that you can find the milk of human kindness in Blue Bunny Ice Cream!”

Well, that didn’t sound right to the man either, so he decided to visit the wise man of the mountain. It was a treacherous climb with jagged rocks and cold, windy peaks, but finally he made it to the top. The wise man of the mountain was sitting in front of his home, which was a cave. The man said, “Oh, wise man of the mountain! Please, PLEASE, help me! I am desperately searching for the milk of human kindness but can’t find it anywhere. It has dried up. People are being mean and cruel to each other. (Tip foo can and casually place it to the other side of the goblet so you can be prepared to pour out the milk). Can you tell me where to find it?”
The wise man of the mountain did not say a word. Seeing that the man was hungry from his long climb, he shared his bread with him. Seeing that he was shivering from the cold, he took off his cloak and draped it over the man’s shoulders. The man’s hands were torn and bleeding from the long climb, so the wise man applied soothing ointment and wrapped bandages around them. In other words, the wise man of the mountain didn’t just talk about the milk of human kindness; he actually poured kindness into the man’s empty life. (Do a magic wave of the hands and pour milk from foo can into goblet)

The man finally understood! His life would no longer be empty. (Pick up the tube from the Mother of All Diamonds and show it empty) He went back down the mountain (make descending motions with the can and slip it over the goblet to clip the gimmick) and began pouring the milk of kindness into others. He did this by doing kind deeds and good works. (Remove the can along with the goblet shell that contains the fake milk). Oh, the man was finding out that it was FUN to help others! You could even say that the man did so many kind deeds that he not only poured out the milk of human kindness, he SHOWERED it on others! (Flick the goblet upward, ejecting the flutterfetti) Wow, that’s what I call condensed milk!

The moral of the story is this: the milk of human kindness is in each one of us—we just need to pour it out by doing good deeds and showering others with kindness!

WOW, wasn’t that a great story.  Thanks Mark for sharing it with our readers.
Barry Mitchell

Library Fishing

Here’s a creative solution to use our Fishing for Friends silks in your summer reading shows.  It uses all the silks and a change bag.  The libraries will love you.
Written by Barry Mitchell and Tim Sonefelt

I was reading a great book on fishing when I had a magical idea.  That’s one of the exciting things about reading; it inspires some great ideas.

I created my own magic fishing pole.  It’s one part fishing net and one part fishing pole.  I call it one part fishing net and one part fishing pole.  I came up with that myself.

With my fishing pole, I can fish for friends at the library who love to read just like me.  I have a hook and a tackle box filled with bait.  (Drop hook in change bag.)  I need a helper to hold my tackle box.  (Choose helper and ask them to hold your tackle box open so the bait silks are accessible.)

Another one of the exciting things about the library is that it attracts a variety of people who have different interests.  For example, it attracts people like me who love books about fishing.  (Show fish silk and drop in change bag.)  I’ll put the fish in my net to attract people who love fishing.  You can find fishing books in the 700s section of the library.

I love books on humor and jokes.  (Show yellow smile silk and drop in change bag.)  You can find books on jokes in the 800s section of the library.

I love to read stories, but I really enjoy writing my own stories.  Did you know there are even books that can help us write better stories?  You can find them in the 800s section.  (Show black feather quill silk and drop in bag.)

Did you know the library has books about business and how to save money?  (Show green money silk and drop in bag.)  You can find books about business in the 300s and 600s section of the library.

I’ll bet you’ll never guess what soap has to do with reading.  (Show white soap silk.)  Did you know you can make your own soap?  It’s true.  You can find books about soap making in the 700s section.  Speaking of soap, I love to take bubble baths.  Did you know there are even books about taking baths and washing our hands?  The library has books on everything!  (Drop white silk in bag.)

The library even has books on LOVE! (Show red heart silk.)  Are any of you in love?  If you want to read love stories you can find them in fiction.

Love is not really fiction, but all those really gross romance novels my big sister reads are in that section.  One kind of love that’s not fiction, is our love for books and reading.  (Drop red silk in bag.  Switch change bag to produce long streamer.  Ask helper to hold one end and walk away from helper while holding the other end.  Silk will flow out of change bag.  Follow directions with the silk set.)

So if you love books and get hooked on reading, you’ll meet a whole new group of friends at the library. (Produce long streamer silk.)

Get hooked on reading.

Fishing for Friends silks are available at www.barrymitchellproducts.com

Get Connect Gospel Application

THE ETERNAL CIRCLE
A Gospel Presentation for the Get Connected Ropes written by Paul Morley of England.  www.missionmagic.co.uk
You can tell he’s from England.  Check out how he misspelled “color” and “favourite.”

There are six differently coloured rings of knitted ropes (red, white, blue, green, yellow and orange.)  Each rope has a meaning for me.
The white represents God the Father, the Father of light. The red represents Jesus the Son of God who died for me. The yellow represents the Holy Spirit who brings power into our lives. The blue represents all the people in Old Testament times who believed in the coming Jesus, without seeing Him. The orange represents the people of the New Testament times who saw Jesus and believed He was the Saviour of the world. The green represents those in the world today who believe in Jesus and have made Him their best friend.
The rings are shown and a child is invited to help. Go through the colours again dropping them onto the child’s hand.  The rings are then collected and dropped into your change bag.
The child is invited to lift out their favourite colour as you state what the colour represents. You look with amazement as the children shout what has happened. The ropes are linked like a chain!
That’s amazing! That’s what the Lord wants us to know. When we trust in Jesus, we’re in a safe place. A chain is put around things to keep them safe. God puts us in a chain so we will know we are not alone, but are linked to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are also linked with the Old Testament saints and the New Testament saints and all those around the earth who love Jesus.
Gather the links up again and drop them again in your change bag and the child lifts out their favourite colour again. Look with amazement as the rings have now changed into a continuous ring.
Wow that’s amazing! God wants us to know that when we believe Him because of Jesus, we become part of Gods eternal circle. We are joined together with all those who have trusted Jesus and we will live with them all in God’s heaven forever in God’s eternal circle.
Hold of the ends of the loop and bring your hands slightly together and the circle will take the shape of a smile. That truth is enough to put a smile on anyone’s face.
The Change Bag
The choice is yours, either use a triple change bag or, as I do, a single load. With your single load change bag have it loaded with the eternal circle. On top of the handle have the chain available. After showing the individual loops, say, “I need my collection bag” and under the cover of your box, drop the loops and bring out the change bag with the chain.  The chain will appear to be the same loops that were just in your hand.  Drop the chain in one side of the bag, as if they are the single loops.
I think you will agree that it’s a colourful, effective, and easy to do trick with a good gospel application.

Barry’s Note: I love Paul’s handling of the loops with a regular change bag.  The routine is a great addition to our Get Connected ropes.

Christmas at the Mitchells aka Pumpkin Stew

Twas the morning of Christmas, and all through the house,
The alarm was screaming, cause the power was out.

I jumped from my bed, to see what’s up with that.
I naturally assumed, it was a terrorist attack.

It was five a.m.; I couldn’t see a single sight.
The only sign of life, was my tiny cell phone light.

I used it to check, my gifts under the tree.
Naturally my first thought, was all about me.

I ripped off the paper, with all my might.
It didn’t occur to me, to use a flashlight.

It was so dark, I was only wasting my time.
I went back to bed, to the sound of my chimes.

Back up at eight, to make sweet potato souffle.
I offered to make it, the sugar free way.

My idea to replace eggs, with pumpkin in a can.
Turned out to be, not such a smart plan.

Canned pumpkin has sugar, and my eggs are out of date.
But I’d opened the pumpkin can, so now it’s too late.

I used the old eggs, and mixed the potato paste
But I’ll use that pumpkin too, it won’t go to waste.

With a baking dish was too big, over twice the size.
The mixture was thin, with much room to rise.

The topping looked wrong, is all I can say,
But that’s alright, it only covered halfway.

With the dish in the oven, I was finally home free.
Then the power went off,  You must be kidding me!

I grabbed the pumpkin, and started a new mix.
With no evaporated milk, coffee creamer was my fix.

A couple old eggs, were mixed in the brew.
Without a pie crust, I’ll call it pumpkin stew.

The pumpkin was too much, required more than one pan.
Maybe I should have simply thrown out the whole can.

Two more pans full, won’t fit in the oven now.
But I can make it work, some way, some how.

I cocked one gently, on it’s side for the bake.
I’ll finish this job now, for goodness sake.

The power returned, just in the nick of time.
There’s just one more line, to my Christmas rhyme.

I’m off to my family, with dishes in tow.
I’ll keep the egg history, on the down low.

Barry’s Cold Cockle Cocoa Mix

Barry’s Cold Cockle Cocoa Mix
This cocoa is sure to warm the cockles of your heart.  After in depth research at the Mitchell Center for Cockle Research & Global Cockle Warming, it has been determined that no one really knows what cockles are, what they do, or where they come from.  However, the general consensus is that they are cold most of the time due to the carbon footprint of the Alaskan Caribou.  If you are one of the millions suffering from cold cockles, consult Dr. Barry’s Cold Cockle Cocoa Mix for instant relief!  Simply add one bag of cocoa mix with one-cup hot water (sprinkling white snowman poop is optional, but advised). Aaaaahhhh, . . . relax and enjoy . . . your cockles will warm in no time.

Make Your Own Dr. Barry Cold Cockle Mix
21.8 oz. Box of Nestle Nesquik
8 oz. dry Coffee Creamer
25.6 oz. Box of Powdered Milk
16 oz. Box of Powdered Sugar
1/8 T Salt
4 oz. Hershey Unsweetened Cocoa
Divide into 1/3 cup bags.  Makes 46 servings

Enjoy!

Flu Fishing

By Greg Wood
Greg Wood sent us a GREAT idea he uses with our Fishing for Friends props.  Below is his presentation ideas.  You’ll be amazed by the creative way he has given a different and educational message to the effect.

Greg writes:
We were asked to come up with something to help re-enforce what is being taught in school to avoid a pandemic of H1N1. It seems to be such a hot topic right now. I thought I’d share it with you.  Fishing For Prevention The usual gags and jokes from Fishing for Friends are used and we added a Peachy Keen foam burger prop for a joke about catching a whopper. The kids don’t always get it but the teachers do.

Here’s the basic script ideas:
You know when you’re fishing, you’re trying to catch something but with the flu you’re trying NOT to catch something. What can we use as bait to NOT catch something.

Smile - While a nice smile can be beautiful, there can be many germs in that smile. That’s why it is important to always cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Cough into your elbow or better yet behind your knee, or use a tissue. Throw the tissue in the garbage after you have used it and don’t put it back in your pocket.

Heart - Stay healthy, eat well, exercise, take your vitamins

Quill Pen - Stay home when sick – This is the kind of pen we used in my day to do our homework…by candlelight. When you are sick, you need to stay home from school so that you don’t spread it to others. As a matter of fact, you should stay home for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever. It’s a good idea though to get your homework sent home because we need to keep up on our work so that we don’t fall behind.

Money – Think about something like money. Most people like it. I like it, but so many people touch our money before we touch it and they may have passed germs onto the money. Peter Ender, a scientist who has studied the germs on paper money said, “The germs on money comes from our hands.” A few years ago Dr. Ender got dollar bills from people waiting to buy food at a basketball game. Seven percent of the bills showed traces of harmful bacteria. Eighty-six percent carried less harmful germs that rarely cause illness among healthy people but can be very dangerous to some people. Only seven percent of the bills had no germs.  Money isn’t the only thing that is touched by a bunch of people before we touch them. And these things can also easily carry disease as well. We can’t just stop touching things but we can be careful not to touch the T part of our face, our eyes, nose, or mouth after touching things. Dr. Ender said he doesn’t worry about handling money with his bare hands because he washes his hands “dozens of times a day.” Me too, so if you want to give your money to me, I’ll take it all….

Soap - Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Follow these instructions for washing with soap and water:  Wet your hands with warm running water and apply liquid soap or use clean bar soap. Lather well.  Rub your hands vigorously together for at least 15 to 20 seconds. You can sing the ABC song.  Scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.  Rinse well.  Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel.  Use a towel to turn off the faucet. Hand sanitizers, which don’t need water, are also good too, particularly when soap and water aren’t available. If we follow these steps, hopefully, we won’t catch anything. Hey we caught something though, we caught a whole school full of healthy, happy students.

Thanks to Greg for his willingness to share this routine with others.