I love fondant....I tried my first pacifier and baby rattle this weekend...Not to bad but I am having a hard time making the fondant perfectly smooth on the smaller pieces like the small ball at the end of the rattle handle...there are little imperfections no matter how much I try and smooth it out.....should I use Crisco on my fingers...or water ??

Never ever use water on fondant, unless you are trying to attach something to it.. If you use water to smoothen it, your piece will get ruined. Yes, use the crisco to smoothen it out.

I ALWAYS microwave a little before modeling...even the smallest pieces are super smooth after.

Be sure to knead your fondant well before you start modeling. I use a very tiny amount of Crisco on the palms of my hands. I start rolling the ball of fondant with a fair amount of pressure and then lighten up and roll the ball with very little pressure. Doing it that way seems to work for getting the fondant smooth.

In order to get nice, smooth pieces, it's necessary to start with very smoothly rolled balls or ropes. Almost every piece you make starts with one of those shapes.

Knead the fondant with a bit of tylose, gum tex, cmc, or gum paste until it's the consistency you like to use. Too much of those will make it dry too fast and to crack.

Roll a ball in the palm of your hand, palms together and use the pressure and heat of your hand to get rid of ALL of the lines and fissures. Now you can roll a nice rope, too, if necessary.

If you need to cut or trim something, rub the cut end with your finger coated in crisco.

HTH
Rae