I learned this magic trick a few years ago from a friend who trusted me with the secret. I have been true to my word until now, and I’m only divulging it because I did a search for it on the internet, and the instructions are widely available. So much for the magician’s oath! So I feel like I can share the trickiness so you can amaze your own kids, or teach them to be amazing.
Disappearing Card Trick
What you need: You will need a deck of cards, a handkerchief with a hem on the edges and a toothpick. You may have to sew your own handkerchief if you can’t find one with a wide enough hem – you need to be able to slide a toothpick inside of the hem.
How it looks: You make a card magically disappear under your handkerchief.
The Show: Spread a deck of cards (or part of a deck – if you’ve got a deck that’s missing a card or two, this is a good use for it!) on the table in front of you. Inform your friends and family that you can make a card disappear just by saying a few magic words. Show them that you have nothing up your sleeves and let them inspect the cards on the table.
Lay the handkerchief over the cards. Pick one up under the handkerchief, say some magic words, and poof! Crumple up the handkerchief and the card is gone!
The Secret: The secret is in a little bit of prep work. Cut a toothpick to the same size as the short end of a playing card. Work it into the hem of a handkerchief. You might have to cut a small hole to get it inside. Make sure the toothpick is not visible. Now, when you lay the handkerchief over the cards and then you pick one up, you don’t really pick up a card–you grab the ends of the toothpick between your thumb and pointer finger. It only looks as if you have a card. You can easily crumple the handkerchief and it looks like magic!