The Beginnings of (Cup)Cake Decorating

I've been wanting to learn how to decorate cakes the past few years.  I looked into taking a class but either my schedule didn't fit with the class schedule or don't have the money to do it.  So, why not just teach myself?  I began by buying a decorating bag and a few random decorating tips.  I made some frosting and practiced 'decorating' on some wax paper.  It was bad.  Embarrassingly bad. 

My next step was to buy a Wilton decorating set with practice sheets and a practice board.  It went better, but I still need lots of practice!

Not pretty, but it was good practice.

My focus right now is accumulating good cupcake recipes and learning how to decorate the cupcakes.  I bought some buttercream frosting from the store to use on a few old cupcakes I was about to throw out.  Here are a few pictures of that first attempt:

Haha!  Not too good, right?!

These are a little better

Quickly improving!

It didn't help that I only had enough frosting to cover six cupcakes!  From those six practice cupcakes, I hoped I learned enough to attempt a whole batch.

I decided I would make cupcakes for my husband's graduation.  He loves anything lime flavored so I decided on margarita graduation cupcakes.  I had found several recipes online but the one I decided on turned out horribly!  I don't know what went wrong but the cupcakes didn't rise like they should have and turned out very doughy.  I've never had a recipe turn out so bad (well, one that I was following!).  Needless to say, I ran to the store to get what I needed and made a different recipe for my margarita cupcakes the next morning.  I made lime buttercream frosting, prepared my 16in decorating bag with a 1M decorating tip, and frosted the cupcakes successfully! 

Aren't they pretty?

And delicious too!

I still need practice with consistency, but I was pleased with how they turned out.  I am planning on making more cupcakes here soon, (I'm thinking vanilla with chocolate frosting) and will be sure to keep you updated on my baking and decorating progress.