Not to change the subject, but forthwife and Jen80: your avatars are so gorgeous, that I went in and saved them to my favorites!!! You guys are an inspiration to keep practicing!!! Wow!
And to the original poster....me too, I understand.
Advice? 1. Sugarshack's DVDs. You'll be surprised at the confidence you get from her step-by-step instructions. 2. Practice one skill/technique at a time, don't go too 'grand' on one project 3. Have fun!!!
One thing I have learned is not to EXPECT perfection, EVER! Cakes are sometimes unpredictable. And I just love to use my family and extended family as "testers", sometimes it is hilarious, other times I surprise everyone, me included in how awesome a cake turns out. I did a cake for a new client and one of her guests called me and said she cringed when they cut the cake because she thought it was so beautiful, lol! She said she thought they went to NY and got the cake from the CAKE BOSS! I was stunned! I new the cake looked nice, but never expected such a compliment! And I have only been doing cakes for less than a year. I could point out each and every flaw, but the people getting the cakes, most of the time, simply love them! Keep working on the things that are hard and eventually, they will not be so hard...like smooth buttercream!
Hi, MrsMabe! I'm like the thousandth newbie to respond to this post ... but I want to add my two cents!
DO NOT GIVE UP!!!
Yes, I too have had some frustrating encounters with cake decorating ... but as my Wilton Instructor always says, "It's just icing."
Hey, if you mess up you still get a pretty sweet reward for your efforts! 
I am just now getting to the stage where I'm not freaking out over how "bad" my cakes look or things that go "wrong". I am now able to sit back, assess the situation and think "how can I troubleshoot this?" A perfect example is the poker table cake in my album. I was having a few issues and thought it would never turn out right ... but lo and behold - it's now my very favorite cake!
Consider classes. Learning how to execute basic designs properly will greatly add to your confidence ... and be the springboard you need to venture into more complex designs! Right now, I'm having a blast!
Be blessed!
Stick with it, don't give up. I'm not new to baking, but I am new to decorating. Unfortunately for me I am not able to attend a class due to the times they are offered in my area. I have a 2 year old and a husband that is on call most evenings. So, I watch videos, read tutorials, do internet searches, read posts on CC, save pictures of cakes I like, and I practice. The guys at my hubby's fire station, my family and friends are my guinea pigs. I try different recipes, try one technique at a time and about once a month I actually decorate something to see if I can make it work. The ones that I feel good about I post here, the rest, well, at least they tasted good.
I have some grand plans for cakes that I want to make. I hope that I can make them work, but I just keep telling myself that I can do it. The more confidence that I have in myself the better my results. Also, like someone said before...Planning. I have a "Cake Planning Worksheet". I write down everything I need to do, I break each cake down into smaller, stress free tasks, then I spend one evening (after my daughter is asleep) to assemble.
If you love it, don't give up, step back, take a deep breath and keep practicing.
I started decorating 35 years ago as a teen. Self-taught and struggled with "how-to" sometimes. Nothing has helped me more than taking classes. Learning "tricks" of experienced cake decorators led to a few aha moments. There are many methods out there for making a smooth cake. My experience is that it's ALL ABOUT THE FROSTING. re: filling a cake. There's nothing like a dam of stiff frosting to keep an oozing filling in place.
GOOD LUCK
Thanks so much MrsMabe for posting this and inspiring so much wisdom! My cakes never match the "photo in my head." Not to long ago, I did a cake for someone who complimented me repeatedly - even called me to tell me how wonderful it tasted and what a big hit it was at the party. All of that and I was STILL frustrated that it didn't match my vision. My husband said: "The cake made the person you made it for happy, that is where the success is!" I realized he was right, at the end of the day, if the recipient is happy with the cake, then it's a good thing! Thanks to all who posted such good advice!
One day my Mother in Love handed me a kitchen aid mixer, a bunch of cake tips, etc. She told me to learn. So, I got online and watched videos, read articles, etc. Since then, I have practiced and practiced. It has been a couple years now. I am still nowhere near as good as I wish I was. Though, friends and family often request my cake making services, and they say I am too hard on myself. Maybe you are too.
Just keep practicing. Two years in and I still have so much to learn. The more years that pass, the better you will become. I remember being so frustrated that I've cried, been ready to smash a cake I worked on for hours, etc. It happens to all of us. You are not alone.
This week, I will be giving my first attempt at a whimsical, topsy-turvy cake. I am scared stupid! BUT, if I never practice I will never know if I can do it. Even if it doesn't look so great in the end it will be one more experience to add to my list.
NEVER give up! If you want it bad enough, and you keep practicing you will achieve it.
When I first tried my hand at decorating I completely sucked at it. I remember that I was in high school and they wanted our school to start competing in the state competitions against other schools. So they trecked about ten of us for an hour away school. A school that was actually a technical school which meant they had about six weeks of regular school and then six weeks of training in the field they chose. So I walk in with what I was told to bring, a small sample cake to decorate. I look and these other girls had full size cakes, some tiered. I had one color icing. Pink. I was so ashamed of what I made I truely wanted to throw it in the garbage and run. Especially when I saw the beautiful buttercream roses and things they all had piped. I couldnt even make a straight shell border to save my life!
So I gave up. Until about ten years ago when I got engaged and decided I might try my hand at making my wedding cake. I bought the Wilton gumpaste set and tried again. Gave up. Let someone else do the cake part even though I knew I was really good at the baking part. I wasnt happy with it. But instead I decided to play around here and there, bring stuff to work, etc. Then when I had my second daughter and we decided it would be best for me to stay home because of the money, I started watching FN a lot. I started practicing more and more. I looked at everything on the internet I could find that had to do with cakes. I knew I could eventually do really good at this so I kept up with it. I got the bug, and bad and started doing more and more. And it took lots of time and practice to get to the point where Im happy with some of the things I create. Its been four years. Are my cakes perfect? Nope. But I know I can do it and get to the point where I think their flawless. And I can see a big change in what I started doing and what I do now. It just takes time and lots of practice.
My best advice to you is to get yourself some cake dummys and continue practicing. Give yourself a break! Rome was not created in a day and neather were Browen, Collette, Mike, Sharon or Jen. They all will tell you that they have been doing this for a long time. Get yourself some videos and just practice. You will get there! I have faith in you!! 
Let me tell you...I think most (if not all) of us have been there. That's exactly how I feel often. And to make it worst I tend to be a perfectionist so, I'm very hard on myself and I'm NEVER satisfied with my work.
Then, someone mentioned to me that it's all about the 'tools'...that if you have the right 'tools' you can do amazing things....well, due to that you can't image the amount of tools I have at home!!! nope, it doesn't help that I don't have a husband to monitor my 'tool spending budget' LOL 
Sooo, having said that yes, practice, practice, practice is the answer.
BTW, caking is my hobby so, I only do it in my spare time... and yes it gets expensive because I give away all my cakes and I'm always looking to see who's b-day is coming up so I can P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E
I'm a newbie too. A few days ago I was telling my husband I couldn't help being addicted to this site, any free time I have I get on here. Every single time, I learn something new. Like you, I don't think I am the greatest cake decorator...(I still have a long way to go). But friends and family encourage me to keep going..nobody is perfect ,nothing is ever perfect ! I used to be really stressed out and worried about what everyone was going to think about the cake. Now I don't. I just do the best I can and practice when I can. I keep some b/c in the fridge and practice piping on wax paper. Don't give up! Keep practicing and ask questions when you need help..That is what I love about this site, there are lots of people who can help!
I get discouraged very easily. I thought I was doing a pretty okay job, until I found this site. I started comparing my Wilton course cakes to those who have been decorating 20+years, and here I've been at it like 3 months, haha. I know how you feel. I try to comment on people's pictures and ask questions in hopes that someone will comment on mine and give advice. I know if I look back a year from now, I'll probably be lightyears ahead of my skills I have today. I'm not a patient person, and this whole "not being good at something the first time I try it" is very hard for me.
Let's just keep asking questions and take all the amazing advice we can get!!
DefyGravity, that's me too. I've got no patience. I just want to fast forward to when I'm great at it lol.
I'm adopting a new philosophy about caking. I'm going to go in baby steps instead of expecting it all to come overnight. And I will only compare my cakes to my own previous cakes instead of a 30-years-of-experience decorator's from now on.
I told my husband that I'm getting back on the horse and he literally groaned. Poor guy is trying to lose weight...I guess my practice cakes aren't helping 
I just have to say thanks again. It helps to know that we all hit this point now and then. The support on this site is just amazing. I'm so glad I found you all.
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