this is my first attempt at making buttercream smooth and I had a ton of things so wrong. Firstly, I didn't have a cake board and the plate I had to use was too small and the sides were upturned so it make doing the sides impossible. Secondly, I don't have all of the proper tools you need yet as this is only my second cake in two years. I have no spatula, no scraper and was missing something else. Always the optimist I made do with what I had on hand, so, the backside of a long serated knife and I used a cassette tape cover (washed) for a scraper! It got the job done and I had a good laugh about it honestly. Thirdly my buttercream took forever to crust and I had made my fondant pieces too far ahead o time so they were drying out before I got to attach them to the cake which made them crack. I didn't get to practice my Viva method because it got to be too late into the night (I was making this for my husband for Father's Day) and I had to put the fondant on so I did the best I could with what I had. I also forgot to put the little detail on the tie before I added it to the cake, so I did it once it was on already but it could have been done much nicer. Overall, I learned HEAPS with this cake and even with all the mishaps I had a blast doing it. I used a Key Lime Pie cake recipe that I found on here with Key Lime Buttercream and it was delicious!