Right here, you’ll find four different magic tricks using only paper and a few everyday items you probably already have at home. I’ve explained every single one of the tricks, so you don’t only know how they work, but you can perform them as well!
These are the tricks with paper I’ll show you in this post:
You’ll learn how to tear paper apart and put it back together, how to turn paper into money, and I’ll show you a trick using paper, money, and a pen. With the final trick, you can read minds – using only three pieces of paper.
Let’s get started with the first trick, shall we?
One of the most popular tricks with paper: How to tear paper apart and put it back together
This is a very popular trick that has been performed by many different magicians.
The principle of the trick is rather simple:
You take a piece of paper and rip it apart until there are only a few small pieces left. In the blink of an eye, the paper scraps are all put back together and you can unfold the now completely restored piece of paper.
I’ll show you how this illusion works and how you can perform it yourself!
Let’s dive in.
How to rip paper and put it back together: The “Torn and restored paper trick”
This magic trick has been performed in many different versions, oftentimes using a newspaper that is torn apart and put back together right after.
I’ll show you the trick using ordinary pieces of paper, but you can switch it up and use other materials as well.
You can watch this video to get an idea of how the trick is done:
This trick requires some preparation before you can perform it.
Here’s what you need:
- Two pieces of paper (same color and size)
- Double-sided tape
To get started, crumble up one of the paper pieces into a small ball and add put a little piece of double-sided tape on top of it. Make sure to remember where you put the tape! You can use it to stick both of the papers together (it will make the trick a lot easier).
When performing the trick, show your audience the intact piece of paper, and hide the crumpled-up ball in your hand. Just make sure that nobody can spot the second paper hidden inside your hand!
It’s a good idea to practice this part in front of a mirror.
How you can perform the trick
Hide the paper ball in your left hand and cover it with the other paper. Use your right hand to tear off several strips of paper, without moving the left hand! The size of the strips should be around 3 – 4 inches (7 – 10 cm), so don’t make them too small.
Once you ripped most of the paper apart, put all the strips on top of the remaining paper in your left hand.
The hidden paper ball must not be visible during this entire process!
As soon as you’ve put all the strips on top of each other, you can start to crumble them up into one paper ball. Use both of your hands, so you cover up all the paper for a short moment. This is when you can secretly turn the prepared paper ball upwards, hiding the ripped pieces underneath it.
For your viewers, it looks like you just scrambled the pieces together, but the trick has already happened.
To “restore” the paper, you just have to unfold the prepared piece of paper and hide all the strips underneath it. You can use the prepared double-sided tape to stick the pieces of paper together, allowing you to move your hands more freely.
Quick tip
Ensure that you don't drop any of the torn paper strips because it would ruin the trick and reveal how it works. Practice is key!
The biggest challenge is to hide the second piece of paper in your hand or underneath the other paper during the entire performance. It might feel really weird or obvious when you practice for the first few times, but it will get better over time.
This is one of the tricks that requires some sleight of hand and time to master, but it’s well worth it in the end.
By the way, pretty much every single magic trick that “restores” paper (or other things) uses the same principle. However, to make an illusion like this work, the second piece of paper has to be hidden during the entire performance perfectly.
If this trick isn’t for you, don’t worry, there are many others!
Very easy magic trick with paper, money and a pen
You can view this trick by clicking here or by clicking the image.
This is probably one of the easiest magic tricks you can do with paper. All you need are the following materials:
- A piece of paper
- A pen
- Money (e.g. a dollar bill)
- Scissors (for the prepapration)
The effect of this trick is pretty amazing:
You put the folded bill inside a piece of paper, push with the pen right through it (you can even hear the “rip”), but the banknote isn’t damaged at all!
I’ve explained this trick in detail and even took some photos, so I can show you exactly how it’s done.
This trick deserved its own post, you can check it out by clicking on this link!
Another classic trick: Turning a piece of paper into money
You can view this trick by clicking here or by clicking the image.
This trick is very popular as well and usually get’s amazing reactions when people see it for the first time. I’ve explained in detail how the trick works and how you can do it as well in this post.
These are all the materials you need:
- A bill
- A pice of paper
- Sciccors
- Glue or transparent tape
When done right, you can actually make it look like you can turn an ordinary piece of paper into a dollar bill.
But it doesn’t stop there, you can change the value of a banknote as well, or get creative and use photos or text instead of money. Overall, this method is amazing and even though it requires some practice, it’s well worth it.
I’ve explained how you can turn paper into money in this tutorial, make sure to check it out!
Easy mind reading trick with paper
You can view this trick by clicking here or by clicking the image.
I love mind-reading tricks because they make people believe that you actually know what they think. This is obviously not the case, but with this trick, you get pretty close.
This is how the trick is performed:
You take three pieces of paper and draw different symbols on them. A spectator can now choose one of these pieces and is even allowed to mix them up. However, in the end, you always know which symbol he’s chosen.
What I really like about this mind-reading trick is that you don’t need any preparation, you can literally just take three pieces of paper, draw something on them and you are good to go.
All you have to do is remember the position of one symbol and learn the pattern behind the trick, but trust me, you should try it!
You can read my in-depth tutorial of the trick right here.
Image source (header image):
https://pixabay.com/photos/garbage-trash-litter-recycling-3259455/
