PEICD (PROJECTS EVEN I CAN DO): YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE OPTICAL ILLUSION MESSAGE

Who doesn't like a little magic in their lives, a little intrigue?  I was thinking about a toy I had when I was younger and it made me want to try to make something similar myself.  I'm an adult now, so I should be able to perform some sleight of hand, right?

Do you remember that optical illusion where there was a bird on one side of a circle and a cage on the other and when you spun the circle, it looked like the bird was inside the cage?  That was what I was going for, but with a slightly different twist.  This was my first attempt.  The drawings didn't turn out as great as I had envisioned, but I'm too lazy to attempt again tonight and really wanted to share.

What you'll need:

--Paint in any color you want
--Paint brushes
--Hand drill (or use a regular drill to make a few holes in the wood circle)
--Paint pen
--Wood circles
--String

Step 1:  First things first, drill a hole on each side of your wood circle.

Step 2:  Then tie a piece of string through each hole.  Length isn't a big deal, so just do about 10 inches on each side.

Step 3:  On one side of the circle write your phrase.  I chose "you are my", because on the other side I drew a sun.  Get it?  You are my sunshine.  Tell me that song isn't stuck in your head now, because I can't stop singing it since I started this project.  The key here is to make sure the words stand out enough.  I started with a gold paint pen, but had to add a darker color over it.

Step 4:  Next, paint the sun on the other side of the circle.  I chose yellow paint, but it didn't end up standing out enough, so I traced a sun with my gold paint pen so that you can see the object when it flips around.

Step 5:  You're almost done!  All that's left to do is wind the strings by holding each end of the string and flipping it like a jump rope.  When you think you've wound it enough, pull both ends of the string tight and see the circle spin around, revealing your secret message.  Check out the video below.  Can you see the message?

I've got a few other ideas I wanted to try with this method.  What a fun toy to give a kid with a special message, or even a fun addition to a gift.  What are some phrases you'd add to one?