I recently made gum paste flowers for my son and new daughter-in-law's wedding cake. I would like to use the flowers in a wedding inspired shadow box.I know gum paste flowers can last a long time but has anyone ever tried spraying them with a polyurethane or some type of varnish or shellack to preserve them and how did it work? Obviously they will not be eaten. Thanks in advance for your answers.

I have not used sprays, but I do store my flowers and they do last years. I make sure they are completely dry first then put them in boxes. They have kept great for years. Hope this helps.

There is a liquid dip that you can use on dry petals before putting a flower together but I don't know if it comes in a spray form. If you keep the flowers dry, away from ants and the sun they should last for a very long time.

After the flowers are dry, keep them in a sealed container. There are nice glass domes on wooden bases made for just this purpose.

The flowers will last 20+ years if kept dry and sealed from bugs. The spray does NOT help.

Thank you everyone for your help. The flowers will be in a glass enclosed shadowbox, so I think that should be good enough. Sounds like no spray.

I actually made a giraffe figure for a baby shower cake for my sister-in-law. I sprayed it with polyurethane. I waited about 3-6months for it to dry out. It had a rice treat center. I did about 4-5 spray applications, tried it on a small area first to make sure it wouldn't run etc. I gave it to her son on his first birthday as a decoration for his jungle bedroom theme :) So its been good, and has never attracted ants, for about a year and a half now! :)

I actually made a giraffe figure for a baby shower cake for my sister-in-law. I sprayed it with polyurethane. I waited about 3-6months for it to dry out. It had a rice treat center. I did about 4-5 spray applications, tried it on a small area first to make sure it wouldn't run etc. I gave it to her son on his first birthday as a decoration for his jungle bedroom theme :) So its been good, and has never attracted ants, for about a year and a half now! :)