Birthday Cake -- Piping Tips

Okay guys! Last week was one of my sisters birthday! So, being the amazing sister I am, I made her a cake. However, I wanted to put my skills to the test and not use fondant like I usually always do. (I like it so much because then I don't have to worry about seeing crumbs or anything...however not everyone likes fondant) So, I decided to do all buttercream cream and do a bit of piping, which I haven't really done much of before. It has usually just been fondant decorations. So, my post today is just a few tips that I have with decorating with JUST icing, NO fondant.

First things first....the cake. Here she is! (:  (Yes. I called the cake a she. Got a problem with it? :P )

(Ignore the puzzle..haha)

That is an airbrushed green on top of white icing. I hadn't really airbrushed much so I decided instead of dying it green, just spray it! :D  Anyway, ignore the poor lettering, I am new to that part.....Birthday turned out okay, but happy is a bit wonky. I tried to do a curvy lower case b by the way, but it looks capital, I totally meant to do that...happy is just weird though...I am gonna work on my lettering...

ANYWAY! Tips!!!

1. Have some form of a plan for what you want to do on the cake before hand. Don't just wing a design the moment you put the tip inside the piping bag. Don't. I don't care what you think or say just don't. It's better to have some form of a plan before hand. Sketch out a design, find one online (That's what I did), or use some stencil things that they have now. Seriously, they do. 

2. Make sure you know the tip you are using. Each tip comes out different, each tip should be held at a certain angle to get the right line that you want, so before using anything, either research it or practice with it. It takes like five minutes to research. I'm not kidding. Especially if you use Wilton, that's where I go for my tips and stuff. (The actual metal tips, not like what I am doing, but they do have both kinds on their site)

3. When doing lettering, use a toothpick or something similar and sketch out the letters before hand on it. Don't just stick icing on top of the cake....this way if you mess us, it's easier to fix than if you have icing on it and mess up. 

4. Crumb coat that cake before ANYTHING. Which, (i think I mentioned this before but if not...) is where you put a thin layer of icing on first, you can get the crumbs in it and everything, it's fine. Stick it in the fridge for about a half an hour to an hour, just until the icing isn't all soft and mushy anymore. Then, put a final, thicker layer of icing on. If done right, you wont have any crumbs on that outer layer. Tip inside of a tip: when doing the crumb coat, have a small bowl beside you, empty, dry, nothing in it. When you spread on what you have, you will have crumbs on the spatula, knife, whatever you use, so you need to clean it before putting it into the clean icing. So, scrape it off of the knife in that empty, clean bowl. Reuse what you just scraped off, scrape off again and get some more clean icing, just repeat until you have that crumb coat done. It's easy, trust me! (: 

5. Use the flat side of whatever you use, if it's a spatula, any side is flat, but if using a knife, use the flat side not the serrated side. Use nice, clean, simple lines on it, no needing to be fancy. Just flat simple lines. If you guys have any issues with it, let me know and I will make a post specifically for this with step by step, or a video or something. 

Um...I think that is everything, if you have any issues or need help, do NOT be afraid to ask! I am a very easy to talk to person and I want to help you guys out! I don't want you guys to be afraid to talk to me (: 

Thank you everyone for the support!!!