Practicing Once Again.....

So, I am once again practicing for the wedding.....good thing I have several months to practice as I'm still mastering my technique....not there yet! I can accept that....I will keep practicing until I am where I want to be. I just had an epiphany....I don't have to make cupcakes to practice frosting....I can frost paper! Good thing cause last night I goofed! I was preparing the buttercream frosting for the cupcakes only to realize that I pulled the WRONG recipe...I was making Royal Frosting which dries hard! OMG! So, now I had to pull out the "unsalted" butter for the correct recipe, it needs to sit at room temperature! I did so! Later, I went into the kitchen to start the frosting and holy toledo....I pulled the wrong butter. Now, I'm not one to ignore signs! It was a sign that I was too tired and I should not even try to frost the cupcakes. I decided to just go sit down and watch  the first episode of "Downton Abbey" before bed.

So, this morning, I woke up at 4:45am, thinking it was time to get up. I went into the kitchen to start working on the frosting, got everything out, THEN I looked at the clock! OMG....another sign that I've got too much on my mind! Good grief....I'm beat and wound up all at the same time! I decided that I really needed to be fresh for the frosting! So, I went back to bed, woke up at 6:30! Oh fine! I just got up! I did some housecleaning, dishes, laundry....and finally, it was time to start the frosting. So, the recipe I used did not call for any liquid.....weird! I was a bit terrified that I was going to have a big lump of white sugary substance in my mixing bowl....but no, it turned out beautiful, was so smooth and thick, easy to frost with! Here are a couple samples of what I did this morning:

Right now, I'm not trying to master techniques, I am just testing tips to see what they do! The pictures look blue, they aren't....they are a very dark, stunning purple!

I think this is my fave tip, looks like ribbon.....love it!

I really liked this cupcake with the dark purple flowers on top of the white star bursts....it's stunning in person! 

Oh man, I really love this ribbon tip....I am going to learn to master this one especially....it just makes me happy! 

The frosting recipe I used (found on Pinterest): 

Bakery Style Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1/2 cup shortening

3-1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract (I might try Clear Vanilla next time)

Mix butter and shortening on low, until smooth. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until blended. Add extract, mix to combine. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes, until smooth.