Can somebody tell me the Viva paper towel method. I keep hearing about how good it works. I can't seem to find the method in the forum. Thanks.
I only use it occasionaly when my buttecream gets temperamental 
You need to use the icing recipe that crusts, like 100% Crisco buttercream. Once you ice the cake as smooth as you can get it, then let it sit until it crusts some (no wets spots, let it dry thoroughly). Then place a piece of paper towel over the sides or top of cake and with a big spatula or smoothing object of your choice, gently press and "rub" it on the cake as if you were smoothing fondant. Lift papertowel carefully and repeat until you are satisfied with smoothness and you cover the entire cake.
I also use this Viva paper towel method with great success. I do the same as Maria, using all Criscoe icing recipe so it will crust. I place Viva towel on sides first, smoothing with my hand in an up and down motion. Then I move to top, rubbing my hand in a circular motion. Last, I do the edges by having the paper towel fall half way over side of cake and rub edging between two fingers (fingers placed like in an "L" shape) to achieve a distinct edge. If you are setting up a wedding cake and accidently get a finger in icing, this is easy to fix, just dab on small amount of icing in problem area, let crust and rub Viva over it to fix. Good Luck using this method!
I used the Wilton chocolate buttercream recipe this weekend, substituted the crisco with butter (per wilton instructor, it gives a better taste if used for icing cake) and it seemed to crust the same as the crisco recipe. Smooooooth! The paper towel trick was the first thing I picked up from this site and it amazes my fellow classmates in my Wilton I class!
-Daniell
Ditto with Dannie.
I use a mix of butter and crisco. I also used the recipe with the 2T of whipped topping mix and the Viva trick worked fine. Someone mentioned trying to achieve a basketball-look on the cake with the little dimples. I tried using a generic napkin, which had a crumpled texture, and got the dimpled affect. You can use other paper towels with a pattern and get that pattern on your cake. Viva is nice because it's smooth. The Viva trick is one of the best tips out of lots that I got from this site.
Joan
I use the fondant smoother with the Viva. I was surprised in that I had to use more pressure than I expected to. I thought I would smush the whole cake...but it worked. Pictures of the Viva cake to come later in the week (I'm decorating it tonight in class).
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