Bake your favorite cake. For this one I made a strawberry cake and a lemon cake for a fresh, spring look and flavor.

While the cake is baking, start preparing your buttercream. In a mixing bowl, blend together the butter and shortening. Gradually add in the powdered sugar with a tablespoon of milk  along with the extract, until you have a thick consistency. When you have thick consistency, you will have stiff peaks AND a knife will not fall over when inserted into the frosting. 

Remove a cup of frosting and divide it into three bowls. 1/2 cup colored yellow for the flower petals, 1/4 cup colored pink for the flower centers, and 1/4 cup colored green for the leaves. 

Lay out a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet. Add a drop flower tip (Wilton #224) to a piping bag, a leaf tip (Wilton #366) to another piping bag, and just cut off a small tip of a third piping bag. Add the colored frosting to the bags. 

To make the drop flower design,  hold the piping bag straight up with your wrist completely turned so your knuckles point to a 9 o'clock position. Squeeze and turn the piping bag to the right. Release pressure and lift up. You will have a void in the center of the flower. Pipe a small dot in the void being sure to touch all 5 petals. 

When all of your flowers are made, pop the cookie tray into the freezer for an hour. 

Go back to the remaining frosting and add a teaspoon or two of milk to soften the frosting for a thinner and softer consistency. It's easier to frost the cake with a softer frosting. 

Frost your cake and add sprinkles to the sides if desired. I used this fun Lemon Lime Sprinkle Combo from Sweets & Treats. around the edges. 

Remove the frozen flowers from the wax paper and place them around the cake. Add some green leaves to fill in and help the flowers stick in place. Have fun and be creative with them.