So, I made a gumpaste peony with the sleeping baby inside, the help of some fabulous CCers (I would post pics but the bugs on this site are still crawling!)

I put it in a closed plastic tub to transport to my SIL's house for a little show and tell. When I got home I left it in the tub for a couple of days.

When I took it out it was soft! I thought once it hardened that was it, but that's clay, not sugar, so I should have known.

It hardened again, so no worries. But I'm sure glad I learned this lesson NOW!

It depends on how quickly you put it in the plastic container after it was finished. Within 24 hours, a gumpaste project is firm to the touch, but it takes weeks, really, for a project like that to dry all the way into its core. It is best to store in cardboard altogether. If storing in plastic, even for a short amount of time, use silica gel packets to help absorb the moisture.

Glad your flower with baby dried back out! HTH for next time.

Whew! Yes, me too Thank you for the info.

You know I'm making a bunch for cupcake toppers for my SIL. We want to put them in clear plastic cupcake boxes as favors.

Do you think they'll be okay since the box technically will have some airflow and they will have been made at least a week in advance?

Or should I put silica packets under the box inserts?

I agree about the silica. I dont like the idea of non-edibles in the packaging. I'll just make sure they are completely dry and made far enough in advance before packaged, which I wont do until just before the event.

Thanks so much again for the info!