pretty much what they both said... its easy to tell bud from stem as the bud is fluffy and light.. the stem is gonna be stiff. its just like a regular tree and the bud is the flower, so pick the flower and feel the power =)

you can always retry joints, more practice and youll get the hang of it and only mess up a couple of times over the course of a while
and when i say retry i mean use another paper. try to be soft and delicate with it yet make it conform to exactly what you want.