I am planning on making Mariela's 1st birthday cake, so I did a practice attempt yesterday to see if it was even feasible. I made my fondant from scratch using Wilton's recipe for marshmellow fondant, flavored in almond, and dyed it pink (for a late Valentine's cake to Alexi). Making the fondant was really easy and not as time consuming as I thought. Getting the fondant on the cake without it sticking to the counter, getting a hole, or creasing took some effort including 5 different attempts before I got it right. I also made the buttercream frosting from Wilton's recipe and it was delicious.
Brie- You are right...it's a great arm workout!
Here's some pics of my first attempt which thankfully wasn't a failure:





Re: AW: My 1st attempt at fondant
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This.
Making the fondant and rolling it out was simple. The hard part for me was transfering it from counter to cake once rolled out. It took me 5 attempts. Next time, I'm going to use a cardboard cake cut out coated with confectioners sugar to help me instead of the flimsy plastic IKEA cutting board rectangle I ended up using. I think with a little more practice and a little more sugar to preven sticking I'll have it down.