Tayo and the Traffic Lights

I had the pleasure of making yet another Tayo cake but this one had a very special request. The little boy who is celebrating his 5th birthday has a thing for traffic lights. I totally get that because my two rascals are equally enthusiastic about traffic lights. My younger one may have just turned 2 but he is able to say "Red means STOP! Green means GO Mama Go Go GO!" So when Mummy L requested for traffic lights including the overhead kind, I totally understand :)

Mummy L was also very proactive in working on the design with me. She wanted a zebra crossing as well. I didn't know before but in the Tayo cartoon, little chicks would cross the road so she requested for those to be part of the cake. Just to be clear, she even helped me to envision the design with a powerpoint draft!

Mummy L's draft

The main challenge for me was the overhead traffic light. Gum paste may do the trick but the weight would make it unstable since the structure would be cantilevered... where is the Hubby when you need him. Then I looked around my supplies and came across simple black straws - Eureka! The straw could be bent and that was where I added on the traffic light detail with art paper.  The other two traffic lights were made out of gum paste and supported by lollipop sticks.

The birthday boy was very observant, he told his mummy that I got the overhead traffic light sequence wrong! It should be green on the inside then amber and red. Good spot Isaac! You really know your lights ; )

A scene from Tayo the Little Bus

I had the most fun making that zebra crossing. There is something about black fondant, I really love working with it. Any details that is set upon the black pops out and the contrast looks fantastic. When I positioned those 3 little chicks on the zebra crossing, I was so pleased with how it all turned out.

Pedestrian chicks

 Happy Birthday Isaac!