Hi There! This is going to be my first attempt in creating a charater cake. I'm wondering if I can use Betty Crocker prepared ButterCream Icing instead of making it myself. Does anyone know whether this works or not? And if so, can I still thin it using corn syrup like the directions call for? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance 
Betty Crocker prepared ButterCream Icing
Is this canned icing? If so, I've never tried the buttercream flavor, but every can of "canned" icing I've ever used-Duncan Hines, Pillsbury and Betty Crocker-have all been too thin, even runny. When I tried to use decorator tips, it always drooped, slipped, slid, etc. if it didn't fall right off!!! 
HTH,
bakersofcakes
Thank you very much for the response. For an appropriate recipe for the Butter Cream icing, does the one that comes with the pan directions usually work out pretty well?
I agree with bakersofcakes. The canned icings, with the exception of Wilton, are too soft to make all the stars. The Wilton recipe does work well for that but just make sure you thin it enough so your hand doesn't get tired/sore from squeezing out all the stars. You want it thick enough to hold a nice star shape but not so thick that it's difficult to squeeze them out or have them not stick to the cake surface.
You guys have been such a great help. I have one more question, though. When icing a cake, do you pipe the stars directly on the cake or do you prime the cake with a base of white first?
I put on a crumb coat first, just in case there's any gaps between the stars. But you don't have to if you're confident you can keep your stars consistantly close together.
Okay... so here's one last stupid question. Can you still see the lines on the cake to decorate it with the base layer on it? Maybe I should just give up and admit I'm not the artistic type 
When I apply my crumb coat, I use a thinned frosting and put on a very, very thin coat over the entire cake. I can still see the actual cake in most parts, so yes, you can still see the lines of the cake. You'll do fine! I have personally never seen a bad character cake. Look at it this way, Wilton makes all these pans and provides you with fool-proof directions. They WANT you to succeed and have fun doing it so that you will be so thrilled and impressed that you'll run out and buy MORE Wilton products. I can assure you, sight unseen, that your cake will turn out wonderfully. Just have fun with it!
Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement! It really helps to hear b/c it is my first ever cake. I'll give it a go! Thanks again
If you already have cans of the regular stuff hanging around you can use it, but you'll have to add powdered sugar to stiffen it up. It works well when you don't want to make a batch from scratch.
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