I am new to cake decorating. I have two pictures posted and with both I have had problems. With round cakes I have some difficulty with the wrinkles in the fondant as I smooth it. With square cakes, it seems impossible. Can anyone give me some suggestions how to handle this or share some tips? The other problem I am having is the difficultly of covering a fondant covered cake. Is this usual? Help!

Well, I'm certainly no expert,but I really advise to knead, knead, knead the fondant first. Next, roll it out to wear it is way way bigger than the cake. This always helps me. Also, use a fondant smoother. Make sure that you don't roll out to thin or it will tear. Practice, practice, practice.

There are tons of articles here on CC to help give little tid bits on covering a cake in fondant. Here's one link for a square cake....

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-562276-0-days0-orderasc-.html

You want to make sure your fondant is 'just the right' thickness - not too thick or not too thin.

I took a class with Carrie Biggers and she gave a great hint.... I was always laying my cake board on a flat surface (like my table), then drapping my fondant over the cake, smoothing out but my edges had flaps on the them - hated it even though my border (usually fondant balls) would cover. She recommends placing your cake on a taller object so your fondant will hang. (I usually place on an over-sized-wide-mouth coffee mug, real technical here, for cakes 10" and under) that way the fondant hangs, I can quicker smooth to get excess and then cut off. I then go back and make extra smooth. Hope this makes sense!!

With some practice, you'll be a fondant queen!!

Happy Holidays everyone!! I'm off to 'help Santa' deliver the presents under the tree!!!
~ Jaime

Sorry you're having so many problems. One thing I will say is that fondant definitely takes some practice to master, but once you do get the hang of it you won't want to go back to buttercream....it's really worth the frustration and the practice that goes into it.

I have found that warmer fondant works better than colder.
Also make sure that the fondant you are using isn't too dry. Some brands such as Wilton tend to be way too dry.
Also make sure to knead your fondant well before you start to roll out. When you are covering square cakes tackling the corners first helps also.
Make sure that no matter what shape cake the fondant is a good 3 inches longer on each side than what you really need.
When smoothing the fondant work from the top down while going around (instead of doing one side first then the next).

Hope this helps. Merry Christmas and keep practicing!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I am presently using Wilton's fondant. I will try other brands as well. But first, I will try, as suggested, to try putting the fondant on with the cake as it sits up high, like on a coffee can. I will keep you all posted on the success. Again, thanks.

I use Satin Ice Fondant it taste 100 times better than Wilton's I order from Cakes by Sams

I highly recommend getting Sugarshack's fondant dvd...(she's a member here) and her step-by-step intstructions really helped me; especially on square cakes. Here's the link: http://www.sugaredproductions.com/Fondant_DVD.html