6 Great DIY Ideas for Magic Theme Party

1. Use red, black and white!

Magic is commonly associated with red, black and white because of the poker cards!

2. Use Cards a decorations

Cards and cloth with card prints are easily accessible so use them as part of the decorations: 

3. Magic Potion

Want some magic? Drink some potion then:

Bandung lookalike Pink Magic Potion

4. Card Chocolates

Print on a printer a chocolate sleeve and slot them into the long flat chocolates. Give them as part of the goodie boxes or for your candy buffet table.

5. Use black and white food

Use items like black and white M&Ms for your candy buffet. You can even have fruits like strawberry (red heart), black grapes (black) and raspberry for healthier option. Add a soft toy rabbit as a final touch. 

6. Disappearing Food

It is a nice touch to customise your food to suit your theme! You can have items like 'Carrots for Magician's Rabbits, bounce-no bounce meatballs (injoke for magicians) and . What we really love is this:

Yup, it's all gone! I told you they are vanishing...

All the best for your magic theme party! Don't forgot to book Mr Bottle's Birthday Magic Show for your kids too! You can even book our I wannabe a magician workshop for your kids too!

Lots of surprises in Mr Bottle's Magic Show!

12 Things You WANT to Know About A Singaporean Magician - Mr Bottle Kids Party

This article was reproduced from Splashville: 

Kien, also known as Mr Bottle is a contemporary magician and leading entertainer who specialises in providing children magic. He has been interviewed by Shenzhen Daily News, The Straits Times and has performed on television programmes such as “Hang Jia Chu Shou” on Channel U and “Jobs for Juniors” on Kids Central. You can read more about him at his website and his Facebook page.

1. What makes you decide on taking up such an interesting job?
I was interested in magic since I was about 5 years old! Recently, I found an old diary and promise to myself that I will become a magician and make others happy so here I am living my dreams and fulfilling my dreams!

2. What is the largest audience you have encountered?
I was invited to perform for the Ansan Street Festival in 2008. I was only the magician act and it was the first time I perform on the streets. Coming from Singapore and being in a small Korean town, I got a shock to see so many people watching my show! I think the whole town came to watch my show or something so the reactions were amazing!

3. What are some of the difficult moments you have encountered?
It was not easy route to take. Being a magician is a business! I love creating and performing magic but this is not everything! I have to be the magician, the director, the marketing, the producer, the admin, etc. There are business aspects of things which I have to learn and manage. There is so much to learn along the way. For instance, during the SARS period, there was practically no business for me for months. That was when my friend introduced me to a post-graduation programme in NTU about entrepreneur. I applied for the scholarship and got it and this has helped me so much.

4. Have you encountered any embarrassing moments?
Language is never my strong point so there was once a kid corrected my ‘three’. I said ‘tree’. I seriously didn’t know the difference then and it was really embarrassing; corrected by a child! So immediately went for a speech class to help improve myself.

5. How long do you practise every day?
I am always working on my magic 24/7 frankly.
I am always thinking about magic, reading about magic, etc. I carry a book around to write down about my magic ideas and my Iphone has a lot of these concepts too.

6. Do you have to undergo a lot of training when you first started?
Yes, I always think so. Magic is NOT just about secrets. Magic is a multi-disciplinary art and study in which covers psychology, theatre, science, math, art, language, etc. This may seem very harsh: A lot of magicians don’t have enough training before they jumped into magic. The reason I took psychology and theatre in university was for my magic and to improve it. I took part in a play last year so I can improve my magic. After doing the play, despite sacrificing a lot of income, I am so grateful and glad that I did that because I realise I still have so much to learn. I improved in my stage presence and speech so much in the several months of training. I am always training and reading to improve myself because I want to give my best for my audience.

7. What differentiates a good magician and a not so good magician?
If a magician is in it for the money, then he is in the wrong trade. A lot of passion is needed because magic is really difficult to master. A good magician is someone who can amaze everyone and react to the crowd. Magic show is after all a live show so a good magician must adapt to his audience and make them emotionally react (whether it is surprise, laughter, sadness, etc.) and make the audience remember the magician and the magic. I have adults coming up to me and asking if I am Mr Bottle and telling me that I perform for them 13 years ago and this makes me really happy.

8. Where do you draw your inspirations from?
I like to look at new things and these gives me inspiration for my magic. For instance, I like to visit Toys fair to see the latest innovative toys in the market and these may give me inspiration to create my next magic. I like to watch all kinds of shows, visit the museums and read books on all type of subjects. I am like a kid, just curious about anything, which is why I love to travel.

(Magic has brought me around the world! Audience braving the heavy rain to watch the show in Changhua, Taiwan.)

9. What do you consider as your most impressive magic trick?
Most people would think my most impressive magic must be a big illusion. Actually, I get the most reaction from my close-up magic, especially my sponge rabbit magic. A lot of people think these rabbits have a life of their own, especially since the magic happens in the audience’s hand. I have received like $50-100 tips a couple of times because of that!

10. Most expensive outfit you have ever worn?
Most of my costumes are custom-made! So I hardly buy the designer clothes off the shelves. The most expensive costume which I made is about $700.

11. Tell us something that people outside the industry would find it useful or interesting to know.
There are many famous celebrities who are magicians or interested in magic. Some examples are Oscar host, Neil Patrick Harris, Muhammad Ali the boxer, whom I was lucky to meet in USA as well as George W Bush. Another interesting example is Georges Méliès, a magician who was an innovator in special effects in films.

12. Your thoughts on the question: Do magic exists?
Yes! I always if one believe in magic, this give you the positive energy to enable you to do a lot of things that one may think is impossible. Let me tell you this story: Once upon a time, there was a very shy child. So shy that he did not dare to talk to anyone in school. One day, his father bought a bottle of magic for him. "In it, is a potion that will make you grow brave and strong." Every morning, he would open the bottle for some magic. Day by day, he begins to make more friends. One day, he saw his good friend cornered by Billy, the big bully. Believing he chased Billy away. Many years later, he discovered that the bottle was actually an empty bottle. Believing in the magic has changed his life. This child is none other than Mr Bottle the Magician, who believes that nothing is impossible.

Kids Friendly Restaurant: Starz Restaurant

Starz Restaurant

 

Hard Rock Hotel, Starz Restaurant, is located in a centralised location at Sentosa. This means you are minutes away from some of the region’s top attractions, such as Universal Studios Singapore^® and S.E.A. Aquarium™, as well as Asia's flagship of the world-renowned ESPA.

 

 

 

International Buffet Dining

This colourful and fun restaurant offers buffet Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, with a wide variety of international and local cuisine, which is ideal for both locals and tourists.

Activities for Kids

On every 1st Sunday of the month, starting from 6 July 2014, a whole range of kids activities are specially lined-up for the little ones. The adults can watch them play and laugh while they indulge in the sumptuous spread.

Kids’ Activities
12.00pm – 1.30pm	Registration / Face Painting
12.00pm – 4.00pm	Special Kids Buffet and Movie Screening at Hall of Fame
1.30pm – 2.30pm	Story Telling / Games
3.00pm – 3.30pm	Magic in a 'Bottle' by Mr Bottle

As a diner, I might not be aware that there are activities only on the 1st Sunday of the month, and might have mistaken and head down for a Sunday Brunch. Upon knowing there isn't any activities, I would get rather disappointed and probably decide to dine at another place before stepping in. I might even decide not to patronise the restaurant anymore to avoid disappointment again. I would rather the restaurant have activities on all Sundays, with 1 or 2 activities per time. In this way, regular diners can enjoy different activities on different visits. This will give them a refreshing and surprise feeing on every visit.
   

	It is great to have activities for kids all lined-up for the Sunday Brunch. However, what about the adults? For those who just come in with their small family and does not come with their friends, it is unlikely that they will stay there for 4 hours. Hence, there is a tendency that the parents will want the kids to leave the restaurant. It is commonly seen where parents will "grab" their kids and stop them from what they are doing/ watching. To counter-act this, the restaurant should also have some activities for adults, e.g. Close-up Magic, Caricature & top-up a certain amount for Wine for the drinkers.
	Address: Resorts World Sentosa - Hard Rock Hotel Singapore. 8 Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa Island Singapore 098269 Operating Hours: Breakfast: 7.30am - 10.30am   Lunch: 12pm - 2.30pm (Mon - Fri)   Dinner: 6.30pm - 10.30pm   Hi-Tea: 12pm - 4pm (Sat, Sun & PH) Tel No.: +65 6577 6688 Email: dining@rwsentosa.com

Themed Birthday Party 1

Angry Bird Themed Birthday Party

 

Themed Birthday Party is very widespread since the past few years. The themes changes according to the trend. Hence kids nowadays usually will have a different theme for their birthday party every year. It's pretty common that way 6 months before their birthday, the kid would have Already Decided on the theme for his/her own birthday!

 

 

In this post, we shall share some ideas for Angry Bird Themed Birthday Party.

 

1) Decorations

If you have stage performance/s for your party, Stage Decorations will be great when taking photos. Like the Customized Banner, Angry Pig Shooting, Tree and Bushes at the Stage.



 

Other decorations also include Angry Bird Sling Shot Column, Angry Bird Centrepiece and Hanging Angry Birds and sticking Angry Pigs around the room.

 

You can even customize the helium balloons to Angry Bird theme. By providing stickers in which children can paste it's hair, eye brown, eyes & beak. Easy yet creative!



 

2) Entertainment

a) Mr Bottle's Magic Show

Mr Bottle has a customized Angry Bird Magic Show.  

 

 

b) Interactive Games

Other than our standard Interactive Games, Mr Bottle's Kids Party can also customize the games to Angry Bird theme!



c) Carnival Games

Include Angry Bird Shooting, Angry Bird Basketball & Angry Bird Golf Carnival Games to your party.

d) Caricature

The drawing paper as well as the drawing itself can be customize to Angry Bird theme too.

e) Mascots

Renting or even buying Angry Bird mascots and having them taking care at each station can be a great idea!

f) Pinata
Not only can you get an Angry Bird design piñata, you can also put Angry Bird related stuff into it. E.g. Angry Bird cupcake rings, blowout, stickers, stick-on tattoo, pencils, erasers, sharpener, paper clips etc.

3) Food and Cake

Change the drink bottle & food labels to Angry Bird theme is one idea you can consider. Angry Bird-shaped candies and cake is another suggestion for this theme.

The One Stop Solution for All Baby Products and Services

Vaby

Vaby not only provides a one stop solution for all baby products and services, it is also a new discovery online shopping destination for mums.

Vaby Box

Ideal for mummies who is afraid to buy products for their new born that does not suits them and hence become a waste. Vaby Box is now your life-saver! Purchase their monthly Vaby Box to receive premium samples from both well-known brands and emerging gems each month. 

SHOP

At Vaby, you can also shop for Clothing, Maternity, Food, Services, Workshops and Party (by Mr Bottle's Kids Party: including Magic Show by Mr Bottle, Science Show by Professor Messy, Balloon Sculpting by N2, Caricature, Storytelling, Mascots, Party Goodies as well as Emcee.

 

 

Come join Vaby's Official Launch this Saturday (28 June 2014) from 2pm to 4pm at The Playhouse. 7 Rochester Park, Rochester Drive S(139218). Meet Mr Bottle for Close-up Magic and receive awesome animal balloon hats from N2!

 

 



Win dining voucher for 2 at Park Hotel Clarke Quay and 5 reasons why you should reserve your tables now for their Easter Brunch!

There are 5 reasons why you should quickly reserve your tables at Brizo at Park Hotel Clarke Quay! 

1. Your child can win for you a FREE dining voucher for 2 pax worth more than $100 when they take part in the Easter Egg Decorating Competition! The hotel has prepared hundreds of eggs so they can even do multiple entries! 
2. There is a 25% discount if you quote 'MrBottle' before 13 April. Wow, Mr Bottle is like groupon now! Usually discounts do not apply on peak days like Easter! So this is a rare offer.Latest update is that there is only about 30 seats left! 
3. There are Kids Activities to occupy your children throughout! You can enjoy your buffet in peace while the kids get busy! Brizo is a nice cozy restaurant so no matter where you sit, you can see your children at the kids corner.
4. The food - do I need to say more? Even my favourite Egg Benedict is on the list. This is making me hungry already and I just ate.
5. Mr Bottle is performing his new Easter Magic Show only at Brizo.

Want to win Dining voucher for 2? 

Find the number of Easter Eggs hidden in this picture. Go to this link, then comment on the photo, share the photo and like the page to win! 

How to Host a Birthday Cake Cutting Ceremony

by Kien
Although most party companies usually provides this service free of charge, I decided to put this out online so everyone can do the cake cutting ceremony themselves without sweat. 

But first, I think we have to discuss the objective! It's a must for every birthday party! Cake cutting ceremony is a great time to take photos with your guests and naturally, you want to freeze this special moment with your cameras, especially with your family.
1. Schedule – Most of the cake cutting is done towards the end of the parties but I have seen a few parties doing it at the beginning. There is no right or wrong but I guess you have a find a suitable schedule, when the most important guests are here or right after the magic show when you have most of the guests attention.

2. Preparing the cake

• Find a place to take the photo. It can be a nice backdrop that you already decorated. (Not against the light if you have glass walls)

• Take the cake out of the box first (duh!)

• Put the candles on the cake

• Some cakes will have this plastic transparent thing covering the side of the cake. Remove that.
• Have the lighter ready with you. (But do not light the candles yet.)
• Put the knife on the table beside the cake. Remove it from the plastic cover first. (Most cake shops will provide a safe plastic knife.)
• For 2D cakes, prop the cake plate up with a plate or small bowl underneath. Face the cake in such a way that it shows the words the right up way when the photo is taken.
• Have the plates and forks ready

Want everyone to see your 2D cake? Prop it up with a small bowl or plate so your guests can see it!

3. Birthday Kid – Get the birthday kid to stand behind the cake. Take a few photos of the cake with the kid alone. (if there is a chance!)

4. Guests – Some may want the family to be in the photos, and some may prefer to have the kid guests to be in the photo since it’s the child’s birthday. Getting all the kids to stand properly for the photo taking is an art. Kids usually crowd in the front or side where they have the best view of the cake. If you use a long table, it is easier to line them up at the table; behind the cake.
5. Getting the kids to smile – I usually like a few photos before I light up the candles. Because once the candles are lit, the time to take photos is short especially with certain fancy candles. You can get them to shout the birthday child’s name or simply ‘cheese’ at the count of 3. (So everyone says it at the same time!) Remember to ask them to look at the camera. You can ask them to do certain actions like hooray, yay, funny faces, etc. 

6. Light the candles – I recently found some wind-free lighters which is great for birthday candle lighting! If you use a normal lighter, it tends to get too hot after a while. Using a spare candle to light the others may get wax all over the cake. After the candles are lit, I get them to pose for a few more photos.
7. Singing the Song – I count to three so everyone starts the song at the same time. In school, kids are usually taught different versions (Eg. Mandarin) I may let the kids take control of the different versions they want to see. 

8. Blowing the candles – I may remind the kids that ‘it’s ______ birthday today, so let ______ blow the candle. Ask him to make a wish first. (Great photo opportunity when the kid shuts his eyes for this.) Blow the candle. Your camera should snap non-stop during this step.
9. Cut the cake – Get the kid to cut the cake while smiling at the camera. 

10. More photos? – There may be guests who want to take photos with the birthday child and family at this point of time too.

11. Serve the cake – That’s it! Ask the kids to queue up while you serve them the cake. I think it will be great to ask the birthday kid to serve the cake too and thank the guests at the same time.

Kien is a psychologist by training and decided to put what he has learnt to good use by performing magic, since graduating from NUS and NTU about 10 years ago. He changes into Mr Bottle when he is with kids and has been specialising in children magic for the past 14 years. He has since helped host about 2138 cake cutting ceremonies since he started his trade. (He think he should advance to start doing weddings ROM too.) He can find out more about his magic shows at www.magician.com.sg or email him for a chat at enquiry@magician.com.sg

My First Magic 7: My first REAL magic show?

Although during my childhood, I had never been to a birthday party which had a magician, I never was deprived of watching magic shows.

My father was a very very very (did I say very?) active volunteer in his grassroot neighbourhood, involving himself in the Resident's Committee (RC), Community Centre, Civil Defence, Town Council... you name it, he is (still is) probably some part of it.

As a kid, my parents would bring me along to the events he was involved in. I was very lucky to have seen all kinds of magic shows.

One of them, that I remembered, was a magician from China. He was charging real cheap so RCs were booking him... a lot. He linked rings, he made egg appear, without much presentation.(Given that he don't speak English.) I thought, I could do that...

In fact, I thought I could do what most of the magicians are doing since I could guess the secret behind them. I just need their props and practice right? I was wrong!

Some years later (around 16-17 years old probably), I was given a chance to perform at my father's RC. (for free I think) I put together a few magic tricks that I just learnt and tried to perform them that evening. What a failure it was.

The selection was definitely wrong. It was a very forgettable show. (In fact, I forgot mostly what I did.) I think nobody understood what I was doing. I wondered even if people could see what I was doing! (One of the magic was done on a table.)

It was then I realised that there are some things much more than the secrets. I was on a long journey to learn what really magic is....

My First Magic 6: My Magic Books

Other than the books I copied from the library, I wrote down magic books on my own. I also created and adapted magic of my own. Some of them, looking back, was quite nonsensical and some, interestingly, works, including those which I put some thinking into the choreography and blocking of the magician!

I also recorded the secrets of the magic tricks that I have guessed on television, concerts and shows. In other words I had a lot of "Nothing" books! (My mother was a kindergarten teacher until I was about 5 years old so she had a lot of empty books for me to write and paste things on.)

Mad Book of Magic!

An elaborate magic trick on stage with just a coin!

My own script about Flying: 'Name me a thing that flies. Yes, birds aeroplane. Who build the first aeroplane. Wright. (Ok, ok, I didn't have that pun then.) Name me a thing that floats in the air. Yes, a hotair balloon. There's one more thing that float: it's this stick. Now don't blink your eyes, you are about to.... erm, I see two boys did as I told them. They did not blink their eyes, they close them! Now really look closely.'

I experimented and made a stick float in the air when I was twelve years old. (That was some time before David Copperfield floated!)

This entry is after watching Princess Tenko perform on TV or live probably! (Oh, I love magic so much, that I bought a ticket to watch her and gatecrash a 2nd time to watch her again! Tickets are expensive even though she came in my secondary school days!)

The secret of how David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear. On the bottom of the page, I made a cheesy joke of why the statue is that of the lady, not man, or else there would be a smell from the armpit that's carrying the torch.

My First Magic 5: My First Magic Kits

My first magic kit was probably bought from a shop in Marina Square. Someone was demonstrating the magic and I think my parents were very surprised with the outcome. So they bought the set which has 2 magic inside it.

I had lots of fun playing with them. (Although as a kid, I find one of them almost impossible to do!) I have sort of graduated from a homemade magic to something... different!

Then later, a pepsi has this promotion which was giving away free magic tricks whenever you buy lots of drinks. My dad managed to get his hand on quite a few and I think I almost collect 70% of what they offered. Suddenly, my repertoire of magic increased! I would play them over and over again.

Finally, probably the most expensive magic kit I had that I finally got in Primary 6 was this $19 set from Gician's Novelty. $19 then was A LOT of money. I didn't buy it myself. My parents would NEVER EVER buy it for me. My aunt and uncle, who brought me to this exhibition at World Trade Centre, bought one for me and one for my cousin. (Ironically, Gician became a very good friend, whom I go magic conventions with and he is performing for our company now!) She went on to give another bigger magic set that year again.

My aunt has always been very supportive of my magic hobby. Even now, she knows that I do not have cable TV so she will record the magic shows on CD and pass them to me.

My cousin never become a magician, I did! Perhaps that $19 was a good investment.

My First Magic 4: My Library Books

I continued learning magic tricks through whatever means I can. There wasn't any internet then.

I remembered that the National Library Board has a Book Suggestion scheme in which you can suggest a book that you want to borrow and they will try to get it. I did that. In secondary school, I did the same thing.

I was happy that by the time I was in upper primary, Jurong East Library has opened and they stocked a series of magic books, mostly by this author call James W Baker.

Despite not eating during my canteen break and saving up 20 cents pocket money, (I didn't want to spend as my parents has inculcated a habit of saving and I can see that earning money is not easy for them.) I didn't even want to spend the money to buy new magic props. The book was just right for me because it made use of everyday objects. In fact, I didn't even want to spend that money on photocopying the book, which I could have, instead, I copied WORD for WORD onto a book for those magic I like and made my own Magic Book.

I was and will always be grateful to James W Baker. In 2003, I credited him in after I published my original creations on a column call "One Man Parade" in the Linking Ring, a publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. And lo and behold, he emailed me.

Can you imagine a childhood hero emailing you? It was an incredible moment. We had a short chat over email and I promised that I will visit him hopefully at the next magic convention. That chance never came. He just passed away early this year.

In Feb 2006, his only and last "One Man Parade" was published. Deep inside, I was hoping that I inspired him to do so. He always is an important part of life.

My First Magic 3: The Magic Shop at Popular

I never had my own magic set until very much later in my life. But whenever my parents, the tutors, went to Popular bookstore at Bras Basah to buy assessment books for their students, I will have a field trip in spending my half day at a magic shop inside the bookshop.

The owner is probably quite a famous magician in Singapore. (He later was a consultant on mediacorp TV for the gambling show.) He would demonstrate his magic whenever he has new customers but probably never to me. I was a regular face there but I never bought anything from him. I never had that much money to pay those expensive props. But I would still hang around to watch him as well as the TV that plays endlessly.

Of course, along the way. I tried to guess and figure out how certain magic was done.

One of them was the Svengali Deck. It is this cool magic where an audience choose a card and every single card will change to that chosen card. I couldn't afford that deck of super magical cards.

When I was a kid, my grandfather works in the cigarette company and had lots of free decks of cards that he will pass to me to do magic. I experimented and I come up with a TOTALLY different way a Svengali Deck might work. I guessed wrongly.

Thinking back, it worked fine, but it wasn't as good though. I recorded it down in one of my magic books here:

But I am happy that I am given a chance to think and fail, rather than served to me on a silver spoon.

My First Magic 2: My first show?

One of the times when I was probably around 7-8 years old, I persuaded my mother to look for magic books for me at the library. Then, a visit to the Bukit Merah Library is like a weekly affair for my mum, sis and I.

My mum managed to find a magic book that is in Chinese! OH boy, I couldn't really read Chinese that well then and had to depend on my mum to read it to me. She chose one using a matchbox and I made it up. Here's how it looks like:

I performed it for my classmates. My classmates got excited and got the attention of my teacher. (If I didn't remember wrongly, her name was Mrs Chua. Mrs Chua was a funnily interesting teacher who believes in learning through repetition. She'd make us repeat a word about 10 times.) Mrs Chua got me in front of the class, and I performed the matchbox trick! She was stumped. She took the matchbox away from me. I couldn't protest. I am a kid, she is an adult and my form teacher. She pushed the matchbox in, push it the other way, wondering why so. Finally, she pulled on it and tada, she revealed the secret to the whole class.

I cannot remember what I was thinking then. But it is probably my first performance in front of such a big crowd.

My First Magic

I didn't come from a well-to-do family, neither was I poor. My dad works in a Japanese company but my parents supplement the household income by teaching tuition at night. (They did this since I was probably a baby until I am in University. I told them to take a break as I was beginning to earn enough to give them some money. I stopped taking pocket money since Junior College, but that's another story!) So technically, I didn't have tuition at all, except from my parents!

So all my magic are pretty much self-taught, read, home-made. I didn't really buy much magic when I was young! Here are some of the items made of toothpaste boxes and matchboxes.

One of my first magic that I learnt, was from a calendar that teaches very simple magic. I can make a pen, wand, etc stick on my hand without glue, tape, etc (Learn it from the video below)!

Another one was how I can make a knot disappear. I tried it using the string of my bolster. I was a kid, I think these were magical!

I would perform my new magic for anyone who wants to see it...

Next: My first show in my class in Primary School

How did I start learning magic?

I really started magic when I was a boy. I really started magic because of my father.

I come from a middle income family, in which neither of my parents were even remotely related to magic or any kind of performing arts. I don't have the luxury of having any magic items already provided for me as well.

My father merely used magic to amuse and play with me when he is back from work. One of the magic that I remembered is that he would pretend to throw a handkerchief into the air and I would look in that direction and when I turn back it's gone! When I was a kid then, it's truly real magic.

One of my favourites was how he showed a handkerchief and hands empty and then make an egg appear inside the folded handkerchief. You can tap on it, you can hear it, sounds like an egg. You can see the form under the handkerchief. But just when he pulled it away, it's gone! (See below!)

My dad never told me the secret! It kept me curious for many years. It was only a long while later that my aunt tried to perform it and my young cousin "broke the egg".

I am glad that my dad didn't expose the secret to me. I believed in magic and that made me want to learn magic on my own. My interest grew with the help from SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) then, which was showing David Copperfield specials on TV. I would tape them and watch them again and again!

I explored magic a lot on my own. I tried to think of ways how David Copperfield could do it. I made magic things out of cardboard. I use ordinary objects that I find around the house I am proud to say that I knew quite a bit of the master magician's secrets before I turned 12. (I even wrote a book on secrets of David Copperfield.)

I think parents nowadays tend to spoon feed children with information and knowledge. But a lot of times, kids are smart enough to explore and learn on their own. Give them questions, not answers. I think they will learn a lot this way.

Next: One of my first magic tricks

If you think you can, you can!

In my students days, I was very inspired by this tagline: If you think you can, you can!

I think this has led me to do many things that I would think that would be impossible for me, like... becoming a magician!

A lot of people thinks that being a magician means resting at home from Monday to Friday and then suddenly we kick into action whenever there's a show!

Unfortunately, no! There's so much to do! From the rehearsal to practice, preparation to planning of routine, testing to improving them. I am created and invested lots of money (many in excess of thousands) on many routines, only to abandon the idea later because I didn't feel that good about it.

Even for my Birthday Magic Show, I am still improving it; thinking of new methods after doing that show for years,. (The work in progress now is a new visual way to make the sugar appear.) Nevertheless, it gives me great joy to create them even if I were to give it up later.

For example, the current Recycling is Fun act is an idea from year 2000. I bought different types of mini trash bins in America and Hong Kong (because I couldn't find any suitable ones in Singapore) to experiment when I had the idea, but only to make its debut in 2008. (More on the thought process of this routine next time!)

Mr Bottle doing the Recycling is Fun act

Of course, show business is business too! There's administrative work to be done. We have to do sales and marketing. We have to meet clients, just like any other business! The only difference I guess is that I don't really consider this work since I enjoy every part of it!

I just met a person, after I told him that I do magic, telling me, "Oh, so you don't work..." How do I answer that question?! Even my parents were telling me when I graduated from University to find a "real job" first.

Anyway, work or not, I know that my magic and business revolves around me 24/7.

I remember in my students days when I am not a magician yet, when my friends are doing holiday jobs, earning money for their favourite brands, I am at home thinking and practising my magic. I wrote down in my diary that I want to become a magician.

If you think you can, you can.

Nothing is Impossible!

If "Nothing is Impossible", then how do we put to action?

I wanted kids to shows as much creativity as they can. I decided to create the nothing book! This is a project that I am pretty proud of because the whole branding just fits into place! Here's the front cover.

Here's the back cover design! In this case ("nothing is impossible"), pun intended! Some of you may already have it when you receive our goodies box at our parties!

What's in the nothing book? NOTHING!! In other words, children can really express their creativity. Something that even the adult may not be able to think of. But I felt, if I were to leave everything blank, perhaps it's too subtle. So I decided to give kids some help.

Inspired by the opening chapter of the story "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, I tried to create a story of my own.

The story changed a many times before it was finalised. The final version was part of a joke that I heard when I was a child: about someone handing in a blank piece of paper. Well, it's funny and meaningful. So why not!

Here's the story:

In the next few pages, I put in few samples like what could be done so kids will not be limited to just drawing on them! (When I was a kids, I drew a lot of comics, wrote a poetry book, story books, magic books, etc. I will show you if you are interested! I threw quite a bit away though.).

Do you know that there's a few "secrets" in the notebook? You can actually use these secrets to perform magic! Look for them if you have a copy!

Whether you are a kid or adult, sometimes, don't we get crazy ideas and dream of outrageous things? Record them in your very own "nothing" book and years down the road, you will enjoy flipping through.

If you need a Nothing Book from me, just follow me on my blog, drop me a comment, and I will send you a copy free of charge*! (I am just too confident that nobody bothers to read my blog in details. hahaha)

*Overseas shipping Applies. Terms and Conditions Apply. Alternatively, you can purchase a copy at US$2.99each.