
Decorate Sugar Cookies Just Like the Pros
You can learn to beautifully decorate sugar cookies just like you see on social media and I can teach you how! Whether you like to learn from pictures and text or videos and words, I've got you covered! I have created photo Cookie Cards and a Video Tutorial so that you can choose your method of instruction.
*This tutorial is provided for those that have purchased my annually offered Buttercream Icing Ocean Cookie Decorating Kit. If you are creating the cookies and icing on your own, I decorate with American Buttercream.
Ocean Cookie Cutters
Cookie Cards: Sugar Cookie Decorating Guides
Use my Cookie Cards below as a guide to decorate your Ocean sugar cookies. Step by step photos plus written instructions give you all the details that you need to create beautifully decorated sugar cookies of your own.
Decorate a Starfish Cookie
with Buttercream Icing
- Pipe an outline around the edge of the cookie.
- Fill in the cookie using a back and forth motion, creating horizontal lines of icing.
- Create dots of icing in various sizes to add texture to the arms of the starfish.

PRO TIP: For an added crunch, try using White Sugar Pearl Sprinkles instead of icing for the dots on the starfish.
Decorate a Sea Shell Cookie
with Buttercream Icing
- Pipe an outline around the edge of the cookie.
- Fill in the cookie using a back and forth motion, creating horizontal lines of icing.
- Pipe a dot in the bottom center of the shell.
- Starting at the bottom center dot, pipe scallops around each curve of the top of the cookie, coming back to the center point at the bottom.
- Add sprinkles to the bottom of the cookie.

PRO TIP: Placing sprinkles at the bottom of the cookie works as delicious camouflage in case your scallops don't all meet together neatly at the center point.
Decorate a Mermaid Tail Cookie
with Buttercream Icing
- Pipe an outline around the edge of the tail, coming to a point at the bottom, but leaving the fins blank.
- Fill in the tail using a back and forth motion, creating horizontal lines of icing.
- Pipe outlines around the fins of the cookie.
- Fill in the fins using a back and forth motion, creating horizontal lines of icing.
- Choose a color for the scales. Using that color, outline the tail and the fins.
- Pipe wavy lines on the fins.
- Pipe scales on the tail by creating half circle scallops. Alternate the position of the scallops on each row so that the scallops in the row below come to a point at the center of the scallop above.

PRO TIP: Be sure to cut the opening of the icing bag small enough to be able to achieve the detailed scale design on this cookie.
Step by Step Sugar Cookie Decorating VIDEO Tutorial
Visual Learner? Let's Decorate Cookies Together!
Follow along to my step by step video tutorial. Learn how to decorate Ocean Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Icing including a Sea Shell, Mermaid Tail and Starfish. I break down the decorating process into easy to follow steps and give you helpful tips along the way.
Helpful Cookie Decorating Tools:
*Affiliate links. May earn a small commission when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
Want to Learn More?!
Looking for more inspiration? Check out my Royal Icing Ocean Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial. Learn to decorate the same Ocean cookies with royal icing in different designs that can also be translated to buttercream icing.