I finally made my first fondant cake. It didn't go according to plan, BUT for somebody who has never tried it before I think I did ok for a first try. Here is a picture:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1855855.html
(Mod edited to correct broken link.)

The first thing that went wrong was that part of my cake chipped off. You can see the dent in the back! I also think my buttercream was too thin. I thinned it out a little more, because I was afraid it would be too thick. It tasted ok though, and I am not a fan of icing.

I tried coloring my own fondant, and I don't know if I will do that again. I bought a 5lb tub of Satin Ice. Fondant dries so fast! I couldn't get the colors dark enough quick enough. It became hard and started crumbling pretty bad so I ended up throwing a lot of it away.

I also don't have a lot of tools so I made my own pearl border by rolling the fondant in my hands. I think the random sizes and dents give them character. Hahahahahaha.

I used a sheltie cookier to cut out the shape of the sheltie.

So, by looking at the cake do you have any suggestions? I know it's bad, but it sure was fun to make!

Fondant is not easy to work with for the first time. I remember my first experience it was a disaster. You should colour your fondant in advance cause the colour deepens over time. I normally colour my fondant the day before. Also it looks as if you used a lot of powdered sugar or cornstarch. That could be the reason why your fondant was drying out and crumbling. You shouldn't add too much powdered sugar or cornstarch to the fondant when rolling it out or kneading it cause it will change the texture of the fondant causing it to dry out. It will get better though, I know this from experience.

I've never had any experience with Satin Ice, but if you notice your fondant drying out, knead a little crisco into it and I agree with using less cornstarch or powdered sugar.

Some people also use a measuring spoon so their pearls are all the same size, but considering it's your first go, you did great .

Crisco is abig help! Also keeping the fondant your using at the moment covered with a clean damp cloth or in a baggy will help. I'm fairly new at the fondant thing but I can say the more you do, the better you get! Best of luck

Lakelover, you do not want to use a damp cloth to cover your fondant, water will melt it. keeping it covered in plastic wrap along with crisco will keep it from drying out.

I think you did a pretty good job for the first try. Keep working on it. Make sure you are using gel food colorings to dye the fondant. I use a small shape cutter to make my balls all the same size. If I want a bigger ball I use a larger cutter. The little white Wilton rolling pin with the purple and pink spacer rings help to keep the fondant the same thickness, which is also very helpful when making balls that need to be the same size. That wilton rolling pin would not work for rolling out fondant for a cake, only small cutouts.

I think Satin Ice fondant drys quicker than some of the other brands, you can buy Duff fondant at Michaels Craft stores, it tastes good and does not dry as quickly. Look in your local Sunday newspaper for their fliers and coupons.

When i make a cake i usually make the cake itself and pop it in the freezer till 2 days before i want it. I can promise and assure you that the cake tastes amazing and really moist when it comes to eating time!!
Then the day before i take it out the freezer and apply the butter cream. I then leave this in the fridge to set for the night. (make sure its covered though in a box or something cause it is quite pouress and can pick up fridge smells e.g open containers or strong smelling drinks.) It makes applying the fondant the next day 10 times easier. Also buttercream should be applied evenly, you can actually get a buttercream scraper that will give you an even finish at the end.
For a first try though its pretty spot on, you did really well covering it!!

The powdered sugar was more likely than not what caused the fondant to crumble, then. I had powder sugar going everywhere! I think maybe, cakewise, I got too happy with the strawberry extract. There was something small and crunch on the inside of the cake. So I either didn't mix it good enough or maybe I added too much strawberry extract.

I will 100% be looking to see if I can catch sales and coupons so I can have more supplies to work with, like cookie cutters, and anything else I might find.

I think the dent in the back gave my practice though. Maybe when I go to do an odd shaped cake it won't be so bad now that I have a little practice with covering fondant in dents.