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!

Going One Direction

I had a chance to revisit teen hood when a mummy asked me to make a "1D" cake. At first I thought, so it's not 3D (3-dimensional) or 2D, but what's 1D? (hoping it's not a mathematical concept cake) It's the boys from the Simon Cowell X-Factor franchise, One Direction! (doh moment)

Back in my days, NKOTB ruled. I had the biggest crush on Joey McIntyre (I was young and foolish). I see that the teen music phenomenon hasn't really changed much two decades on. These five English-Irish boys can carry a tune but their main marketing purpose is of course, to endear to pubescent teenage girls. Hence my opportunity to make a 1D cake ; )

So my 10-year-old recipient is a fan of the band. Her mummy was very sweet to think of how best to come up with a 1D cake that would make her daughter's day. While I couldn't make figurines of these singing lads, I thought perhaps we could go with the signature "1D" logo on a cake plus fondant placards with a doodle of the boys to place around the sides.

Here's how it turned out...

Harry Styles

Liam Payne

Louis Tomlinson

Niall Horan

Zayn Malik

I actually spotted this idea while researching online and saw someone doing these faces on cookies! How clever and they look cute too. I made them completely out of fondant and outlined it with Americolor pen.

I asked Mummy V which is Isabelle's favourite 1D guy... she said "I think it's Harry"... went to confirm it and she's right ; ) So Harry gets the middle spot.

Happy Birthday Isabelle

This is the first time I'm covering a cake in black fondant. I really love how intense it looks and I can only imagine how nicely the rainbow inside would stand out. I should replicate this with NKOTB just for laughs. 

And for those of you pop-loving teens back in the 80s, here's 17 boyband facts that will make you feel old. Aah, the good ole days.