I'm pretty new to this and I havent had the money to get a KA mixer. So, I've been using my hand mixer (the awesome $10 walmart model! LOL) I tried to make a buttercream icing and it was too thick, my mixer broke. Smart me, two weeks later I decide to try to make some RI, I havent purchased a new hand mixer yet, so I borrowed my mom's. Guess what?!? I broke it too! I am following recipes that state how long and at what speed to mix with a hand mixer and I keep breaking these things!! I dont understand. any ideas on what I might be doing wrong? I dont have the funds to drop on a good table-top mixer and might be able to go get another $10 hand mixer, but if I have to get a new one everytime I try to make icing I wont be able to afford this hobby!! Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!!

I went through a few cheap mixers too...look for how many watts the motor is and buy the one with the highest watts that you can afford. I have a GE mixer that I was using before I got my KitchenAid (and don't feel bad, I wanted the KA for 10 years before I got it) and it seemed pretty tough.