I have been trying to practice my cake skills today with my fondant. But instead of smooth fondant, I got cracked fondant around the rim of the cake. Every time I placed the fondant on top of the cake it ripped I would take it off again, kneed it some more, add a little crisco (so it want be dry) place it back on and it does it again. I am so mad, I'm starting to think I can't do this.

It just takes practice. You may be rolling your fondant out too thin. Try rolling it a little thicker, and when you lay it on the cake, be sure to smooth the top edges first. When smoothing the sides, I always make sure I'm pushing up on the fondant, smoothing from bottom to top, rather than the other way around. That way it doesn't pull on the edge. If you have two smoothers, try smoothing up on the side while smoothing the top toward the same side. That will help give it a more crisp edge. That way it doesn't pull on the edge.

HTH.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try that. But I left something out. Every time I bake a cake the top of my cake burns. It does't be cooked all the way in the middle so I have to leave it in the oven for a while longer and it burns. I bought a conventional oven to try and cook in it but it leaves the top of my cake under done(sticky and wet). I don't know if I'm cut out for this. I can't keep spending money and it keeps messing up. I tried dummy cakes but the fondant cracks on that too. Where d I go from here???

There are a lot of factors to consider. Baking is as much a science as it is an art.

First, is your fondant Satin Ice? If so, STOP adding shortening!!! Some fondants become weak and rip if you add shortening.

Second, are you baking at 325 degrees? Are you using a flower nail or some kind of heating core in the middle to get it to bake evenly?

We'll all help you the best we can, it's best to just start over and go back to basics, looking at each individual step and researching it on google, youtube, cakecentral, etc.. Most of us either got a culinary degree or did a CRAP LOAD of self education to get where we are, so don't overlook all the little details, and hope some of this helped.