I normally make the wilton recipe for bc with just the crisco. I tried tonight to make it with half butter and half crisco. To ice the cake I put in 4 tablespoons of water. After putting it on the cake it would not crust over at all. It just stays soft and I can't smooth it out cause it is so soft. What did I do wrong. The reason I changed recipes is everyone is telling me that that recipe is to sweet. Any ideas on how to make the best bc icing. Thanks
These threads may give you more info:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-19948.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-1353.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-45683-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-43249-.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-28256-.html
Probably more than you ever wanted to know.... 
Ok I don't know if this will help you. You are doing a double batch wilton recipe right only substituting 1/2 butter to 1/2 crisco correct. I personally use 1/4 butter to 3/4 crisco ratio for double recipe. It still crusts not as good as the wilton version but tastes alittle better. I also very the flavoring. For double batch 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp. butter, 1/2tsp. almond. You could alter it more if you want more butter flavor. But when I changed it to all butter flavoring it tasted to buttery. So this is what I have done. I hope this will help you 
The shortening is what crusts, not the butter. If you leave butter on the counter, it gets soft and mushy right? So, I make a 3:1 ratio for my recipes to make sure I get that crust. Is your house or kitchen warm?
However, for this recipe that is already made and on the cake, you could put it in the fridge to harden it while you Viva it or do whatever you do soft smooth your cake. HTH! Good luck!
Here is the recipe I like to use, but I do 1 Tablespoon Vanilla, 1 Tablespoon butter, and the 1/4 tsp. almond:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2075-Crusting-Buttercream-Icing-VIVA-Method.html
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