My hats off to all the Cake Decorators. I have never before known the amount of hard "Back breaking" work that goes in to decorating a cake!!! Tonight I have attempted to decorate my first cake using buttercream icing and decorator tips. Oh my gosh! It is soooooo much work. My back aches and I'm not even finished with it yet. I had to take a break because I am so exhausted and my kitchen is so cluttered that I couldn't stand it any longer (I hate a dirty kitchen). I had to clean the kitchen and all my decorating tools before I take a break and get back to finishing my cake!

You people are great!
Susan

I know what you mean.

A dirty, cluttered kitchen drives me crazy, add the stress of the cake itself and the hours of labor, aching back, neck, shoulders, legs...

I've learned, it's best to wash as I go along. I also try breaking the project up into smaller tasks. I may make the icing and/or mmf one night. The next morning, bake the cake(s) and while they're in the oven make the filling etc. Then, later in the afternoon or when time permits, all I have left to do is put it all together.

Hang in there! You can do it!

My kitchen always look like it has exploded after I finish decorating

I try to clean as I go along but somewhere down the line, it still get ahead of me

Thanks so much

If the people that order these cakes new what we know about all the hard work in these cakes, I don't believe they would fuss so much about the price

irisinbloom,

That is so true

Just a few tips, it can be overwhelming when you start out, can't it?
Bake your cakes one day, even wrap and freeze the undecorated cake up ahead to give yourself a break. Make your icing up another day, buttercream icing keeps refrigerated, according to Wilton, about 2 weeks. Colour it ahead too, it is easiest to colour it when it is at room temperature but even colouring takes time and energy. Then crumbcoat or flat ice it either the same day you decorate, or the day ahead. Most of us will do a cake up to about 3 days before the delivery date, especially if it is a wedding cake.
If a lot of different colours are needed, bag your icing in the icing bags and then in a freezer type of bag so they are all good to go when you start.
One of the things most of us do when starting out, is not make the icing consistency as thin as it can be for regular decorating. You need it fairly stiff or thick for roses and things like that but for borders and starring and such, it can be a fairly thin or medium thin consistency which is far easier on your poor wee hands and fingers.
A raised work area and some form of revolving stand or turntable makes your job easier too.
The mess, well, there isn't a cure for that one, unfortunately. I too clean as I go but there is still a mess afterwards. Try keeping a damp towel over your Kitchen Aid but be sure it isn't placed to create any dangers. Damp towels and cloths to clean up spills and powdered sugar really help. I keep paper towels nearby too when decorating. I wear a full baker's or chef's apron to keep me clean but also to insure that no fluff from whatever I am wearing gets into the food. Also I cover my hair to be safe.
I find that if you try to do too much in one day, especially for a big or complicated job, well your hands get tired and shaky and you just cannot do as good a job as when you are well rested. You will be using a lot of little muscles you don't normally use and standing a fair amount, so your back will get tired too. If you can break the task down into more steps and stages, you will find it easier. As you do more, it will get easier to develop some stamina.
If you have ceramic floor, wear a good pair of shoes with support. I have a bad habit of going around in sock feet and boy the ceramic floor is hard on your heels and your back.
Hugs Squrrelly

Thanks for all the great advice!!

Because I am so short (well not that short I am 5'2") I tried to get taller on everything I was doing thinking that would help. However, it's just this one tiny little spot on my back that just kept aching. The rest of me felt fine But that one spot just kept feeling like someone was driving a nail into it! Maybe I have a weak muscle there. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and well worth the pain.

I have the opposite problem. I am 5'11" and I have to hunch sometimes to work at the counter. I get a burning pain in one spot of my back when I'm doing the same motion for a while. I MUST clean as I go or else I drown in tools.

Hey lazy susan

In regards to the standing, wearing good shoes is important. My DH also bought me an anti-fatigue mat to place in front of the counter. It's one of those rubber mats with all the holes in it, I think he got it at Home Depot (he lives in that store). It comes 4' x 4', but he cut it in half and I have 2 sections 2' x 4' and they snap together. So, the entire length of my counter has this mat in front of it. It really helps when you are standing there for long periods of time. The only complaint I have is that all the holes catch every crumb that falls, so you have to take them out and spray them off with a hose or something periodically and sweep the floor while they're out.

SquirrellyCakes - great advice....I have learned some of this pointers along the way (the hard way).

My favorite part is the decorating part so I definitely break up the other processes (baking, making icing, coloring icing, etc) into other days...so that I'm not tired out physically and creatively.