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I bet it's not the buttercream's fault. It's the gun. The trigger control mechanism or whatever it's called won't let you do a border, writing or anything else that's supposed to look like it's flowing. You should be able to make some nice drop flowers, pearls and leaves, though.

When you say "standard buttercream," are you talking about the American kind with powdered sugar and shortening/butter? Or do you mean the French or Italian kind, made with granulated sugar, egg whites and butter? Let me know and I'll post the recipes.

betteirene: I'd love your take on a meringue buttercream. I don't use frosting often enough to have gotten the hang of it.

Okay, here we go:

Bakery, or American or simple, buttercream has no butter and no cream; it is pure white, which is great for wedding cakes, and it holds up well without refrigeration. You need clear vanilla to keep it snowy white, though, so if you're making a wedding cake, get the Wilton brand from Michael's or JoAnn Fabrics. You need Karo syrup, too, but if that's not something you keep in your pantry, boil 1 cup of sugar with 1/2 cup of water in a covered saucepan for a minute or two, then uncover it and cook until the bubbles are thick; let it cool. American buttercream is good on yellow, white and pound cake, not so good with chocolate cake.

Buttercream I
In a large mixing bowl, place these ingredients in order: 3 cups Crisco or other non-whipped shortening, 1 tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. vanilla, 5 Tbsp. Karo syrup; 1 cup hot tap water, 3 lbs. (12 cups) powdered sugar. Blend on low speed until combined, then turn to high speed and whip until fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as needed. This makes enough to fill, frost, pipe borders, and make flowers and other decorations for a 9" two or three layer cake, and more.

Buttercream II
In a medium mixing bowl, place 1 cup Crisco, 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. Karo syrup, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 cup powdered CoffeeMate or other non-dairy creamer, 1/4 cup hot tap water and 1 lb. (4 cups) powdered sugar. Combine all ingredients on low speed, scrape sides of bowl, turn mixer speed to medium and mix just until blended and smooth--do not whip if you'll be using this recipe to make roses (you don't want air bubbles in the icing to cause farts while you're piping). This is enough to fill and frost a standard 8" or 9" layer cake, or to make a lot of roses and leaves. I don't think the CoffeeMate adds anything to the taste, but it does make the buttercream easier to pipe. It's probably all in my head, though.

For both recipes, thin with Karo syrup or stiffen with powdered sugar, a spoonful at a time, until you get the consistency you want.
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Now, the real stuff; still no cream, but tons of butter.

Swiss meringue buttercream is lovely and billowy but not pure white because the butter adds color. It's a straighforward recipe, not tricky at all. The cake needs to be refrigerated until serving; if you set it out on a warm day or in a warm room, the layers will start to slide apart. Trust me on this--thank God it wasn't a wedding cake. Plan ahead so the egg yolks aren't wasted: Either use them in the cake batter (2 yolks to replace one egg--yes, it works), or make hollandaise or mayonnaise with them. I like this frosting with chocolate or white cake. It's not cloyingly sweet.

Take out the butter an hour or two before making this--it should be room temp and soft, but not meltingly soft. The eggs should also be at room temp.

This will be much, much easier to make if you have a KitchenAid stand mixer.

In the bowl of the mixer, the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl, whisk together 6 large egg whites and 2 cups of granulated sugar. Place over simmering water and whisk constantly for about 5 minutes or until the mixture reaches 140 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, you should neither see nor feel any grains of sugar, and the mixture should be uncomfortably warm.

Beat on medium-high speed until the meringue forms stiff peaks and is glossy, about 10 minutes. The bowl should feel cool. Add 6 sticks of unsalted butter, two pats at a time, incorporating it well before adding more. Don't worry if the frosting looks curdled, separated or clumpy--it will be fine. Beat until it is billowy and of spreading consistency.

Duff "Ace of Cakes" Goldman doesn't heat (pasteurize) the egg whites for his standard recipe, which he calls "French Buttercream." I've never made it because of the raw egg whites.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-challenge/french-buttercream-recipe/index.html
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Italian Buttercream
I made this a couple of times a long, long time ago. I can't tell the difference in taste between this and Swiss, and the Swiss is less tricky and much neater to make.

Put one cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water into a heavy one-quart saucepan. Stir gently. Cover and cook on medium-high heat until steam forms on the lid. Remove cover and brush down any sugar crystals from side of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Raise heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 245-250 degrees (firm ball stage).

Beat five egg whites to stiff peaks in the bowl of the KitchenAid fitted with the wire whip. Beat until soft peaks form, then slowly pour in 1/4 cup granulated sugar, superfine if you have it, and beat until stiff peaks form.

Using a large spoon, and with the mixer on high speed, pour the syrup a spoonful at a time into the meringue, aiming for the empty space between the bowl and the whisk so that it doesn't fling syrup into your eyes. Beat for one or two minutes after all the syrup has been added, then reduce speed to medium and beat for another three to five minutes, until the meringue is cool.

Add one pound (four sticks) of butter, one pat at a time. When all the butter has been added, turn speed to high and whip for another minute or two.

To flavor either of the buttercreams, add one or two teaspoons of vanilla extract; 1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled; two to four tablespoons of Grand Marnier, dark rum, amaretto, creme de framboise or limoncello.

Swiss and Italian buttercreams pipe very smoothly, and they look wonderful on cupcakes because they "blob" so nicely.

Ringgg. . .class dismissed.