I think Wilton makes a basic starter kit with a couple of bags and maybe 6-8 tips? They also have a food coloring starter kit with small bottles of popular colors. I got both of these items at Sur La Table. Have fun!

Wilton has lots of great stuff and you can get it all at Michael's, with those 40% off coupons they always have. I took a cake decorating class at Michael's to learn some basic techniques and it was a lot of fun (although I left each night feeling like I was covered in sugar.)

One tip I would give you: go for the disposable piping bags. You can get a huge box of them for pretty cheap and it's so nice not to have to scrape frosting out of a plastic bag and wash it out. I figure the water I'd waste washing out the bags offsets the plastic waste of the disposables. Plus you always have plenty of bags for making different colors and frosting and switching back and forth.

If you live near a Old Time Pottery, they have ridiculous deals on Wilton sometimes. Also, learn the "saran wrap icing bullet" and love it. Here's a link: http://bekicookscakesblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/icing-bag-bullet.html

Not my blog, just the first link I found with decent pictures and such. :-)

I've been decorating cakes for awhile, but am in no way a professional. But if I had to start over again, I would go with supplies from Ateco instead of Wilton. The quality is better and it offsets the price difference. Have fun!!!

I agree with the editor's comments and with Leapkate. Do begin with a starter kit; I began with a larger, one, however, that came with a caddy and everything. That way, you have open star, closed star, leaf, and round tips. Make sure the set has a rose nail and a pair of rose scissors for placing the rose on the cake/cupcake carefully. At $50, it was expensive, but still worth it.

Whatever your set has, buy extra 1) rose nails, 2) #11 star tips (the one you use to make shell borders with), 3) plain round tips of a moderate size, and 4) couplers (they are so cheaply made that there's always some duds in there, so you want to buy extra).

For frosting dyes, I prefer the small tubs of gel colorant to liquid or powder colorant. Liquid is the worst. You may also want pearl powder or luster dust for adding a shine to frosting shapes.

As for brands of tips, Ateco is considered "nicer" than Wilton, but I don't know why that is (other than an association of Wilton with Southern baking and Ateco with the Northeast). Just DON'T BUY PLASTIC. I buy the less expensive Wilton, and they work just fine. Do get the tiny brush that cleans your tips out. You will need it. Also, I adore the funny shaped purple rubber bands that Wilton has that make tying close a pastry bag so easy.

You'll need a bunch of 9' and 10' cake rounds in cardboard (or a willingness to cut them out of boxes yourself, which gets old, trust me). You'll want tons of parchment paper for lining cake pans. You'll want Rose Levy Beranbaum's silicone cake strips so your cakes will bake without a dome.

Do not skimp on cheap cake pans. Ideally, you'll have sets of Magic Line pans; they have rolled edges and will not warp (do not put them in the dishwasher). Fat Daddio's is also good. It is wise to buy pans in sets of three. Start out with 3 each of 8" and 9" rounds and 2 sets of muffin/cupcake pans, and then later, you can get 6", 10", and 12" rounds, as well as 9" squares.

Unless you want to fold your own bags out of parchment (I recommend that only for piping chocolate and very thin icings), you will want to buy a 30-pack of disposable plastic pastry bags. Yes, you can use reusable nylon bags if you prefer; if you do, get a mix of 10' and 12' ones. Keep in mind you will have to wash these two or three times before the fattiness of the frosting will truly be out of the bag. Be willing to dry them inside out, as well. Reusable bags are a pain, but whatever floats your boat.

You will want a great cake turntable; see if you can splurge on the iron-bottomed, powder-coated Ateco. But at first, you can use the cheapo $15 one that's available at craft stores and WalMart. To secure your cake to the turntable, buy a roll of that drawer liner stuff that looks like netting and keeps things from sliding around. You will want that material to keep your cake from sliding off the cake turntable, and for transporting your baked goods.

See if you can get a cake carrier that is extra-tall; it will have a silicone section in the middle that you can scrunch, accordian-like, or stretch out. You'll also want a 24 or 36 count cupcake holder. I do not recommend the kind that come with a metal pan on the bottom; that metal pan will perform terribly.

In general, you'll want a boatload of toothpicks for stirring in colorant into frosting and for drawing designs out on your cake before piping frosting, a dedicated pair of scissors, tons of parchment and saran wrap, little lidded plastic tubs (maybe 1 cup each) for storing colored frostings, and perhaps some tweezers for applying special decorations (eg, nonpareils) to the sides of cakes.

If you want to do fondant, you'll need silicone rolling pins without handles in a small size (eg, 4-5" long, then also 9-10" long) and lots of confectioner's sugar.

Good luck!

Oh yes, my favorite recent purchase has been one of the massive "pancake turner" spatulas from OXO. It's heavy-duty enough to transfer whole cake layers and whole cakes from one surface to the next.

@ Allie J, you took the words out of my mouth! I took that same class at Michael's!! I highly recommend the class if you're really interested- you probably won't find the schedule online, you have to look in the store at the calendar or ask a store associate about it. You get the book (it can probably be bought) that shows you all the techniques. I'm a hands on learner, so having someone demonstrate and correct me if I messed up was very helpful for me.

I also find the Wilton buttercream recipe very easy to make & practice decorating with as it won't melt, so the supplies for that would be good.

Definitely use the coupons and Hobby Lobby has coupons too. WalMart has some baking supplies as well in the wedding/party section.

Go with Wilton, Duff has a big name, but most of the stuff isn't any better, just more expensive. Wilton also has a ton of learning resources on their site.

Be sure you get couplers that fit the tips. That way you don't have to get a new bag every time you want to change tips.
To decorate cupcakes, get the really large tips in the round & star shapes.
A little scrubbing brush you can find by the tips for cleaning them out (the small end is hard to get to)
Lots of toothpics if you get the non-squeeze food coloring

You will probably want to get colors, and I'd recommend gel colors over the grocery store liquid type. Mine are Wilton, as is most of the rest of my baking kit. I have used Ateco things, and they are just fine too.

A cake stand that rotates is nice to have, but not essential. Similar to a big lazy susan.

Try and find a set of tips with a few different styles and sizes. You probably don't need the 400 pc. kit, but it is nice to have a couple of round, star and a coupler (which allows you to change tip easily). I use disposable bags, but in the beginning a gallon size ziploc will work. Use that plastic wrap trick that @Rumagogo linked to - it makes cleaning up so much easier!

Craft stores like Michael's or Hobby Lobby should have baking supplies, as do big chain stores like Wal-Mart or Target and online at wilton.com or amazon. Look for store coupons, sales, and use retailmenot.com for deals.

Also, if you decide you want to learn more about decorating, Hobby Lobby (and I'm sure similar stores) offer classes. And there are always books with piping techniques and tricks.

Good luck and have fun with the decorating!

I like Atecco more than Wilton, but Wilton will do if Atecco's not available. And you don't need piping bags, because zip top bags will do.

I like Atecco more than Wilton, but Wilton will do if Atecco's not available. And you don't need piping bags, because zip top bags will do.

For now, you really only need 3 piping tips: open star, plain ribbon, and plain tube (which can be used to fill pastries too). Since you're just starting out, buy the larger size of these piping tips, one that is about 1/2" diameter . I found it easier to pipe frosting with these larger tips and the decorations looked great even if you aren't the best decorator. As you get better at the decorating and other techniques, start adding other types of tips to your arsenal.

Disposable piping bags are great, but if you feel bad about generating more plastic waste, get 3-5 (of 2 different sizes) of the reusable piping bags. They'll last for a while and are easy to clean.

I'd definitely start out with Wilton's cupcake kit. I took their decorating class after working at a bakery for a little while, and I have to say most of this stuff is trial and error. Save the 30 bucks and find online tutorials and practice, practice, practice. Plus you can avoid the creepy clown technique. When I was a child, my mom would have me practice piping on a plate and then scrape it back in the bag and start again.

Also, consider a flat spatula. I had used offset for years but found that Ateco's wide, flat spatula is much faster to use.

If you do mostly cupcakes, the lazy-susan thing isn't that important. I'd start with wilton's cheap plastic one and if you are ready to move up, go for the bad-ass Ateco metal one. That thing will support a half-sheet and still turn beautifully. It's an heirloom piece. They last for ages if properly cared for.

If you decide to use disposable bags (which i prefer because i never feel the canvas ones get truly sterile between uses) buy them in bulk online rather than at a craft store. Wayyy cheaper.

As a professional wedding cake baker/decorator, I recommend Ateco bags and couplers, Americolor gels, and PME tips.I also like Wilton's spatulas. I would suggest a medium straight and small and medium offset. For tips I would suggest a med-large star, a med-large closed star, and a few rounds: 8, 4, and 2, for anything larger just use the coupler (this is why I like ateco over the notched wilton coupler, it's perfect for frosting cupcakes) Americolor gel colors are easier to use since they come in squeeze bottles. I find the wilton color pots leak and make a mess.

it's a must to have plenty of rubber spatulas on hand (and plenty of small, stainless steel mixing bowls), especially if you're working with several colors. another thing that hasn't been mentioned is a nice, long serrated knife (like 10" or longer) for splitting cake layers. when used with a cake wheel (the classic ateco is worth it--high quality and it looks great!), you'll be on your way to having nice even layers.

I'm really bad at decorating, so my advice is get BIG frosting tips, unless you know already that you're good at detail work. The stuff I initially got is too delicate, and I'll be buying the biggest piping tips I can get next. Maybe I'll improve. Think small child with large crayon.

where did the comments go?