I am making a wedding cake for a friend's daughter.  I am just a home baker, but have made wedding cakes before.  The bride would like buttercream icing with a gold leaf and vine design.  I am going to need to make and paint (gold luster dust) a million leaves and am concerned with time management.  The only mold I have is the Wilton cherry blossom mold that has a few leaves and a few branches.  Does anyone know of a larger mold or a way to make multiple leaves and vines quickly?  I will need to use fondant so that I can paint them gold.  Any ideas are appreciated!!

http://www.globalsugarart.com/search.php?q=leaf+plungers

just think of it as so many cookies you're cutting out that you don't have to bake -- roll out a big sheet of fondant and keep it covered with press & seal -- have small plastic containers handy to toss/hold them in so they don't dry out till you can get them formed the way you want -- it's easy and quick --

and you can hold them in the containers for several hours but probably not overnight unless you separate them with waxed paper or parchment or something -- but the few hours is enough to make a ton and have enough time to arrange them so they dry leafy like --

edited to put in a more inclusive link

edited again to add this one that doesn't appear in the first link

http://www.globalsugarart.com/small-curved-leaf-cutter-set-by-ateco-p-23120.html

so do some digging if you don't see the plunger set you like but see in one swoop you get the shape and the imprint -- easier than easy peasy -- you got this

Also might want to look at  sugarartstudio.com.  Giovanna Smith is an extraordinary sugar artist; she sells mold, veiners, cutters, and even designs a collection of her own.  

Thank you!

but i been thinking about this and i stored mine like i outlined above Before they were imprinted -- since these (using the plunger) are already imprinted-- the easiest way would be to have your formers ready and just cut out and toss on the formers -- aka aluminum foil that's folded into according pleats so you can arrange the leaves in different spots to dry -- all you have to do is wipe down the outside  edges of each leaf kwim to remove the cut mark with your fingers 

putting them in containers would become an unnecessary step I think 

anyhow you'll develop a rhythm and it will go faster than you think

This is what she wants, but wants each cake to be on a separate stand in a cascading curve shape.  I think it is doable, but will take a lot of time.  Will have to make the leaves ahead of time.  Can I store painted leaves?

i would pipe those -- easier than anything

it kinda looks like golden lily of the valley wanna be ish

i would be most surprised if the person who did the cake made those in fondant -- they look piped to me and i could replicate that flawlessly in piping --

you/i would go nuts making all those in advance and applying by hand --

if you're not a piper just start practicing -- you'll get it

Like K8memphis says above, pipe the leaves if you want that specific look.  If you used pre-made fondant/gum paste leaves it would have a very different look.

So if I pipe them (and no, I am not a piper - will need to practice for sure!) can I paint them with the gold luster dust?  The icing will be buttercream (butter and powdered sugar).  Do I need to pipe with something else in order to be able to paint it?

Yal are awesome!  Thanks so much!

Need your advice!  If the cake is covered in buttercream (no fondant) what type of icing do I pipe with and how to I make it gold?  Is there a gold I can pipe directly with or do I pipe with royal icing and then paint with luster dust?  THANKS!!

i haven't tried the edible dusts yet the crystal brand:

 http://www.globalsugarart.com/crystal-colors-c-995.html 

but I would pipe that in buttercream and then paint it on -- since I haven't tried those yet I would of course test this out in advance and be ready to use/test royal if the other didn't work but i'm sure it will --

i've read that these are not as strong of colors as the old luster dusts  -- i would test using some yellow, brown, orange, copper painted on/mixed in first -- then decide what i liked best --

but yes a paint made with lemon extract or vanilla -- the vanilla might lend a little brown idk -- but i use ever clear for painting -- but since it's going to be eaten i might switch to the extracts --

best to you -- post a picture if you want -- no pressure

but depending on how much artistic license you employ* -- you could pipe them all in a gold food colored buttercream then just tip them all with a paint  brush in the crystal color paint that you make (dust + alcohol/extract) unless there's some other edible gold dust you can use -- i know the Wilton edible gold doesn't mix with alcohol so eliminate that one (unless they changed it but i don't think they have) 

*because the coloration on the leaves looks mottled -- some very dark some very pale so if you go with using gold icing then painting, it will look very uniform no longer mottled -- so however much artistic license straying from the exact design that you're good with -- whatever you and the bride have agreed upon kwm --  however you decide i'm sure will be beautuful

I think I'm with everybody  else on this. I would pipe them. You could even pipe with royal icing so they would be firmer. They do make gold good color that is actually a gold yellow tint. That's one reason I have posted a pic of this cake that I made. The leaves are out of 50/50 fondant/gum paste.  I used the "gold" good color first and that helped. I can't imagine if I had tried to paint them while they were still white. Also I used luster dust mixed with vodka. Of course it wasn't edible just nontoxic. No one would want to eat them anyway because after they dried on my pleated aluminum foil they were hard as a rock! Also, if you ever want to make leaves and you don't have all the tools do what I did. I already had several leaf cookie cutters so I cut out the leaves. Got some leaves from out side. Put the real lead in between Saran wrap and the fondant on top of the wrap and rolled over it lightly with my fondant roller.  And, there you have it! Veins!