I have a huge order of cupcakes (300). I've never made close to this many because I usually do cakes for weddings. The bride has requested a "rose" swirl on top but is going with a diamonds and pearls theme. She wants pearls and edible diamonds on top. My question to those who have done more cupcake designs, is this going to be too much? Can I get away with just maybe one small accent diamond?

I've attached a picture of one she liked, though just in a typical swirl and not the rose swirl. In this photo, it appears to be very glittery. How does is this accomplished? Is it lustre spray or something else?

I'd say for the sparkle it's disco dust...I buy mine at my local cake supply store it's usually kept next to the luster dust and comes in all kinds of colors. My bottle of disco dust says its from a company called Gelatin Designs. As for too much I'd make a couple trial ones to see what you think looks better or what the bride likes better.

I love this!! Are you going to make the diamonds from isomalt? How will you do them? What about silicone diamond molds? If she likes the photo above it means she wants an over-the-top cupcake design with lots of edible diamonds, pearls and edible glitter. Disco dust isn't edible My pot from CK says it is non-toxic. It is also very gritty tasting on icing. I only use it on areas of the cake where people won't be eating.

300 cupcakes like the photo should be fairly simple. However, the edible diamonds/jewels/dragees may get expensive for 300 cupcakes. If you can pass these costs along to the bride, then you should be fine.

The 1M swirl is easy to do. You MUST sprinkle the edible diamonds and dragees ASAP after you have done the frosting so they will stick to the buttercream. If you wait too long, the buttercream will crust and they won't stick.

Although I love disco dust, I think the spray pearl dust should do the trick. They also have metallic sprays:
http://www.globalsugarart.com/search.php?q=metallic+spray&searchimage.x=0&searchimage.y=0

Edible diamonds:
http://www.globalsugarart.com/search.php?q=edible+diamonds&searchimage.x=0&searchimage.y=0&gclid=CK68osPm97ACFQF7hwodVmKkiA

Edible spray:
http://www.globalsugarart.com/product.php?id=24553&name=Chefmaster%20Edible%20Metallic%20Spray%20-%20Pearl

Dragees (edible pearls) in different sizes:
http://www.globalsugarart.com/search.php?q=dragees&searchimage.x=0&searchimage.y=0

I hadn't seen the spray before I may have to try that. The shop I work in uses the disco dust so that's what I was going off of. And I love the clear diamonds I am already planning my daughters 18th/birthday graduation cake for next year so those may come in handy.
Learn something new everyday on this site.

Unfortunately, I only passed on $50 of the cost because I intended to make the diamonds on my own. Now that I know the lustre dust spray is needed, I feel like I'm going to eat some of the cost. I have pearl dust but I don't get much effect when I use it and I don't get how to spread it evenly on fondant. Is there something I can buy that I can put into the icing or is the pearl lustre dust the best option? I also wonder how many cans of lustre spray I will need. Ouch, this is expensive.

Wow those are so elegant!!!

The only thing I can think of when I look at those is how many broken teeth the guests are going to have!

Definitely get more for them if you can. Also, disco dust isn't edible so I don't recommend that.

to get nicely lustered dragees, take two ziplock baggies. Put about half a cup of plain white dragees in one and mist the inside of the bag with some grain or vodka. shake. Then dump the balls into another bag that you sprinkle in the silver luster dust with perhaps a pinch of disco dust. Seal and shake them up. put the balls out onto a piece of paper to dry and settle. you can put them now in a container and put the remaining dust back into the bag for the next round.

i get my dragees and dusts from Chef Rubber. Great prices and selection.

(though i too would be wary of using the larger balls...those could be unpleasant to bite into).

I won't use dragees bigger than tiny nonpareils because I don't want to be liable for tooth damage (and I fear that at a large event, the admonition to REMOVE them before consuming the cake/cupcake will not be given to the attendees).

In cases like this, I would either roll my own, soft fondant balls and dust them OR I would buy ready made "soft" fondant pearls (like this seller offers: http://www.etsy.com/listing/102962695/sale-fondant-edible-pearls-300-6mm

To dust them, I place a bunch in a zip lock bag, add some dust, shake well, then add a few drops of clear drinking alcohol (Everclear, vodka, or gin) and shake/rub them around again. I save the bag for future uses so as not to waste any dust.

Disco dust is a non-starter because it isn't edible (it's fine grain PLASTIC glitter), but you could also use edible glitter (dried gum arabic) and grind it fine in a tea strainer. Makes a nice shimmer.

I love the ChefMaster spray on luster dust. Quick & easy.

HTH
Rae