I recently started to attempt cake decorating. I am having issues with keeping enough icing on the edge of my cakes like where the top meets the sides and sides to side. I also use only buttercream, can anyone help me on makig it smooth but still look crisp? I get tired of it always seeming a bit wavy or ruff. I have a friend getting married this weekend and she is having me do her cake but it will be without boarders and I'm afraid of the cake showing thru. I also had a question about being a lefty, I seem to have a hard time keeping the decorations like a regular shell boarder looking right. Maybe my icing rec. Can anyone recommend a good Buttercream rec? Thank you all so much for your help.

Use more icing Sounds like maybe you are not applying enough to begin with.
Use an icer tip (sometimes called a quick icer) It's a big wide tip with one side serated the other smooth. That applies just the right amount of icing. After piping it all around the cake use a bench scraper or spatula to smooth it around the cake -- don't scrape icing off, just smooth it.
As for a b'cream recipe......**SugarShack's** is really good! OR Indydebi's ......both are posted in the recipe section.
I also am a lefty. You might be making your shells the wrong way. Work from left to right around a cake (counter clockwise).....a right handed persone does the opposite.

The ice tip does put a good amount of icing onto the cake. I like to use it myself when putting white icing on chocolate cake (crumbs always seem to mix into it trying to apply it with a spatula - unless you do a crumb coat first). Anyway - back to your issue with smoothness. After I put the icing on the cake and begin to smooth it (using a metal spatula) I run my spatula under hot water to heat the metal up, wipe it with a dry towel and smooth the icing. The heat from the metal REALLY smooths the icing! It works like magic. I then heat the spatula up again (once it's cooled-you'll notice the difference imediately when it's no longer hot/warm) and start the process all over again - heat under water, wipe dry (very important that no water be left on the spatula), and smooth. I hope this helps a little.

Here ya go:

Thank you for your comments, I have the icing tip but it still wasn't working but I watched several youtube videos and think I have it figured out. Thanks again and God Bless...