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How to Make an Impression Pad for Mentalism

Impression pads are an excellent tool in any mentalist's kit, since they are easily disguised as regular, innocent notepads. However, these pads can be expensive to buy. But, carbon paper, thin sheets of paper coated with a pigment and wax mixture, can be used to create a homemade substitute. This homemade impression pad, though lacking an automatic reset (a built in means for the impression to vanish after a set time), will be enough to see you through most situations that demand such a pad.

Things You'll Need

Standard notepad
Carbon paper
Glue

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the length and width of a page of your notepad. Write these measurements down for future reference.
- 2
  Subtract enough from your notepad's page's measurements to leave room for a relatively thick border. For example, if a page from your notepad measures 5.5 inches by 4 inches, then subtract 1/2 inch from each of these measurements (giving you 5 inches by 3.5 inches). Write these shortened measurements down for future reference.
- 3
  Measure out a piece of carbon paper using your shortened measurements. For example, if the full measure of one page of your notepad is 5.5 inches by 4 inches, then cut out a piece of carbon paper that is 5 inches by 3.5 inches.
- 4
  Place your cut piece of carbon paper in the middle of the second page of your notepad and hold it there. Check that the non-carbon-covered side of the carbon paper is facing up.
- 5
  Apply glue to all of the white space around your piece of carbon paper.
- 6
  Press and tightly hold the first page over the second page of your notepad for about a minute. This will glue the two pages together with the piece of carbon paper in between them. Repeat this process until your notepad is full of carbon paper-stuffed pages.

The Occult