Hey everyone! I'm kind of new to cake decorating I really like it, but I seem to be having a problem with my frosting. Whenever I try using a piping bag to do designs and things like that it always seems to get runny and melts, the shape doesn't even hold long enough to come out of the tip. Am I doing something wrong? -C 

Does it start out that way or does it get that way after a few minutes? If it starts out that way, it depends on your recipe. If it gets like that after being used for a while, it is your hands heating up the icing. Try using two bags and swapping them out before the one you are using gets hot. Keep the one not being used in the refigerator. Or keeping it on an ice pack while not being used.

If you have hot hands you might have trouble piping or doing gumpaste. I had a friend who had such hot hands she couldn't do either, everything just melted.

Try to make the icing thicker, and do the switching-out-the-bags that bct806 suggests. You can also just not fill the bag so full, because sometimes when you hold the bag for a while it heats up, and if it's emptier  the icing won't have as much time to melt before you run otu and have to refill with cooler icing.

It seems to happen fairly quickly once I start piping, I will try switching out the bags, thank you both! 

Is your icing too soft to begin with?  It should take some minutes for hot hands to warm up the icing enough to make it melty.  Seems if it is happening fairly quickly that you may need more powdered sugar or less liquid when you make your icing.  Add some more powdered sugar to what you have and try again and see what happens.  Play around with your consistency so that it will keep it's shape.

AIt's happened to me last night. My first time doing a lot of decorations. I threw it in the fridge for like 5 minutes and it was fine. I filling in a cross with those little tiny stars and it took a long time. I started noticing my stars being flat. The other stuff I did was fine because it wasn't a long time in the back. I love the Swiss meringue buttercream also. It holds up nicely at room temp. It is not as easy to get smooth to me, or maybe I just need more practice, but it is well worth the taste.