Ok, so I did my first fondant cake today - I tried to post the pics but my file is too big 
so its saved in my photos.
I have so many questions and trying to stay positive that I can do this and that this is only a learning curve 
1) How do I get ti so that there are no "creases" on the side of the cake from the excess fondant?
2) When I folded the fondant to put it over the cake, there was a crackign from the fold that I couldnt get rid of - I tried the fondant smoother but didnt want to try anything else for fear of damaging the cake. How do I prevent this from happening and how can I fix it?
3) Thank you to all those wonderful bakers out there for all your inspiration and beautiful cakes - I only hope that I can do something remotely like that one day!
4) PLEASE give me some critique so that I can learn from this "practise" cake.
Thanks
Nicky
The same thing happened to me the first time I covered a cake in fondant... What I learned is you just have to start at the top and slowly smooth and lift as you go down all around the cake. When a crease starts to form just lift up the fondant and start smoothing down again. I hope that helps. I finally figured it out in the wilton courses. I hope that makes some sense.
There is a tutorial that's pretty helpful with covering a cake with fondant. It's using SatinIce fondant and I believe it's "ATECO" but I can't seem to get it to open in my favorites to post it here for you .....
Putting a little Crisco on the cracks and rubbing them with your fingertips would help.
I smooth fondant with the smoother on top first then work my way down the sides of the cake. You can also use your hands lightly using a constant circular motion. Some say the warmth of your hands will effect the fondant shaping though.
Hope someone can open up that tutorial for you! 
i just did my first fondant cake last week and it wasen't bad i didn't have a problem with putting the fondant on i just picked it up with the wilton rolling mat thingy and no creases. Why did you fold ur fondant?
I looked on your gallery and didn't see the cake. Did you have problems posting it?
"1) How do I get ti so that there are no "creases" on the side of the cake from the excess fondant? "
When I'm smoothing the sides I make sure of a couple of things: I smooth up and down, not side to side with the fondant smoother, I make sure I gently do the pulling straight out as I smooth and not have it pulled to the side, and finally, I cut some of the excess off on the bottom so it is easier to work into the bottom edge of the cake.
"2) When I folded the fondant to put it over the cake, there was a crackign from the fold that I couldnt get rid of - I tried the fondant smoother but didnt want to try anything else for fear of damaging the cake. How do I prevent this from happening and how can I fix it? "
If this happens to me I take a bit of shortening on my fingers and smooth it over the area. Once it's worked in it will help lessen the cracked appearance.
First, kudos to you for taking a swing at it...next, don't give up!
Try some higher end fondant as well...like the Satin Ice or Pettinice brands (provided you aren't using them already). They are much nicer/easier to work with and should make practicing a little easier (maybe a bit more expensive too, but well worth your sanity!)
Here is a great tip you can use when doing your fondant. Roll it out on a big piece of vinyl. Then pick up the vinyl with the fondant on it. Lift it up and lay the fondant on top of the cake being sure it will cover the cake completely. Then peal away the vinyl. That way you don't have to worry about folding the fondant or getting it to roll around the rolling pin. Since the vinyl is clear you can see where you are placing the fondant before you lay it down.
It works great. Plus you don't need to use any Crisco or corn starch as the fondant will not stick to the venal when you lift it off. It will stick to the vinyl even if you turn it upside down without falling off too. So it sticks just the right amount.
MJS - thank you for the Ateco tip - I found the link: http://atecousa.net//learn/satin-ice-tutorial-i-icing-your-cake.html
and found it very useful!!
Thank you for all your tips ... I could really use them as I was a bit discouraged today ... I need ALOT more practise.
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