I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but I am about to attempt to cover a cake with fondant. I am completely winging it. I think I am to crumb coat my cake, roll out the mmf, and lay it onto the cake. I have no fondant smoother or anything of that nature. Any last minute tips or suggestions before I take the plunge?

When covering a cake with fondant its a fondant smoother is not really needed. just cup your hands and smooth out the fondant. Just work slowly and it will work. Also make sure the butter cream underneath is smooth.

Yes,,BEFORE you put fondant on cake..make sure it's 2" bigger than cake at least so you can work with it before adhering to cake..AND also used you hand to smooth it on top, down to the sides very lightly to get rid of pleats prior to cutting with a pizza cutter or something of that sort for border. Don't press hard and work a little quick so fondant doesn't pull to tear in spots due to weight. Best of luck!

Personally I think the toughest part is the transfer from countertop to cake. As long as your fondant isn't sticking to any surfaces, you can roll it onto a rolling pin overlapping itself (think like paper towerls on a paper towel roll). Then unroll starting at one side of your cake and lay it over while unrolling the rest. If you try to just pick it up and move it, it will most likely tear. Definitely check out a youtube clip or two if you need more explanation. And you want to keep your fondant thickness between 1/8-1/4". It's personal preference really, but some people don't like the taste and like it rolled thin. The thicker it is, the sturdier for me, but also much heavier.

You have the right idea... good luck. You can use the warmth from your hands to smooth. If your cake is 4" tall, you'll need to roll out your fondant at least 8" more than the diameter of the cake, for example, an 8" cake will need at least a 16" diameter circle of fondant (8" for top, plus 4" on one side, plus 4" for the other side).

Before I bought a fondant smoother, I used a small plastic bowl that was smooth on the bottom. Worked well.