I want to make a fondant cowboy hat topper by covering a small plastic party hat (about 8-inch diameter at the brim) and let it dry.  I'm trying to figure out what to use to make the fondant stick to the mold when I cover it, but will release when it dries hard.  I'm assuming water will form a glue that won't release.  I'm wondering if shortening would work.  I made a practice piece with just a dusting of cornstarch on the mold but the fondant did not stick to the mold at all, and it left lumps underneath.  Has anyone done something similar?

AI read in a magazine yesterday about molding fondant on a vase for a project, and they used trex on the vase before covering it with fondant ...... I've not tried it myself tho, but sounds like it could! Hope that helps!

For her wine bottle in this tutorial she used a ton of cornstarch, but i'm sure you can use Parchment paper or wax paper.

http://sugarsweetcakesandtreats.blogspot.com/2010/04/wine-bottle-in-crate-cake.html?utm_source=BP_recent

Thanks for your replies.  And thanks for the link to the sugarsweetcakesandtreats blog, looks like a lot of good tutorials there.  I ended up coating the hat with a very thin coat of shortening (wiping most of it off).  The fondant didn't grip as tight as I'd like, but I managed to get it covered.  Now if I can only resist the urge to fuss with it before it tries completely.