I learned this easy trick for measuring vegetable shortening in my high school home-ec class. Not to tell you my age, but that was before stick shortening came on the market.
Simply pour a measured amount of water into a measuring cup, say 1 cup. Add shortening, or any other solid ingredient, until the water level comes to the level that equals the base amount of water plus the desired amount of product. To measure 1/4 cup of shortening you could start with that 1 cup of water and add shortening until the volume measures 1 1/4 cup. Drain off the water and you have 1/4 cup of shortening. I sometimes transfer the shortening to paper towells if moisture could create a problem, such as when frying.
Measuring shortening in this manner is more accurate and less messy than trying to pack a measuring cup and then scraping the shortening out.