I am doing a wedding cake in June (as a favor) for my neighbour. She likes the "Flourishing Together" cake from the wilton 2009 yearbook and I would like to make the flowers as early as possible.

How long in advance can I make them without them getting dis-colored or any other aged effects?

Also what is the best way to store these flowers?

You can make them YEARS in advance if you want to. By which I mean you can start now. These things have no expiration date. All you have to do once they're finished is to keep them away from the dust and the light. I think you're not supposed to pack them airtight, just protected from everyday exposure. You have to make them several days in advance anyway, since they need time to dry. But you could theoretically sit down and in a few days make enough flowers for every cake you'll make for a year (although who would want to live like that, right? LOL!).

Yes, be sure to store them out of light so they don't fade and don't store them in an air tight container.

Thanks, I'm actually kinda excited to start them so its good to know I can go right ahead. There is a cake store where I get most of my cake tools and the owner also makes sugar flowers and she has hers in a lighted glass case. I know this is for display purposes but I also thought that the light might help keep them from the humidity. I usually buy flowers from her for all my other cakes but they are very expensive and I always put them under a light as well, but that was only for maybe two or three days ahead. So thank for the heads up about the light not being good for them. However I plan on doing all the flowers in white so there would be no fading but do you think it would get yellowish or brownish looking.

I don't think the white would change color in the light, but it doesn't hurt to keep them in a low lit area just in case. Since you are storing them more than 3 or 4 days, you'll probably want to cover them with a thin, clean white cloth anyway to keep them from dust and so on, so that would take care of the light issue. Hope it goes well!

A lidded cardboard box is the best way (like a shoe box, for example). Not a plastic box, since it's not breathable and would let the light in.

Thanks again for all your replies. Sarahbeth I really hope it does. Keeping my fingers cross.

So here's the cake not perfect but I'm not complaining. All the flowers were made a couple of weeks in advance. They did start to melt one day when it rained all day and night but I put them under a light and they were fine. Thanks for your advice guys.