With a few basic recipes, you can make many different cakes by combining flavors and ingredients, by using different fillings or frostings, or of course by applying different types of decoration. 

A couple of simple pattern tricks will go a long way toward dressing up drab baked goods. The "shell pattern and border", discussed here, is one of the most common styles. It is made with a star tip through which frosting is squeezed from a pastry bag, called piping. A cake can have a single design or border piped onto it, or it may be covered in piped designs, depending on the skill of the decorator. 

The shell pattern is a basic and classic shape used for decorating. It can be piped repeatedly around the bottom or top, making an attractive border. They add elegance and style to what would otherwise be an ordinary looking cake. Usually bottom borders are piped first, then swags or stringwork, then top borders are added, with the flowers, top decorations or writing added last.   

Buttercream frosting, royal icing and whipped cream, plus others, can be piped to make a shell shape. (Make sure the cake is frosted and it has set first). You also can use ready-made icing. Wilton makes tubes of icing that accommodate metal tips and couplers. Grocery store frosting is good for icing a cake, but it is too thick for decorating.

Insert a coupler base in your Reusable or and lock round Star Tip #21 onto it with your coupler ring. Now use a sheet of waxed or parchment paper as your practice surface.

Piping a border the edges around the top and/or bottom of a frosted cake, will make it look finished and professional. Shell Borders are made by creating shell shapes, described above, repeatedly. To make decorating easier, place cake on a turntable. 

Begin along the top edge of the cake (if you prefer to have a border there) and create a border that covers the edge all the way around. Do the same along the bottom edge, but with a larger star tip so it creates a thicker border that will give the cake balance and style. Where you put them will depend on the cake's design and shape. Use your best judgment to decide where your borders should be. You'll want your buttercream icing to be of medium consistency. 

Some information and a few pictures from www.wilton.com. Photos by Tami Smith