17 Creative Ideas for What to Do With Ashes
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Time to read 6 min
Wondering what to do with ashes to celebrate the life of your loved one?Here is our list of unique ways to honor your loved one.
Choose A Unique Cremation Urn
It's the most traditional way to memorialize your loved one's ashes, but that's not to say the urn that you use can't be unique and meaningful for your loved one. Memorial urns are not just for displaying on your mantle- some are specifically designed for ground burial, scattering, or even keepsake purposes.
To give you an idea of what is available, here are some unique cremation urns:
Water Scattering Urns
Did your loved one have a connection to the sea or a particular body of water? A water scattering urn is designed for a peaceful farewell at sea or a lake. These biodegradable water urns gently dissolve in water and come in some beautiful nature inspired designs.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Easy
Uniqueness: Medium
Cost: Low
Environmentally Friendly: High
Level of Personalization: Low-Medium
Modern Urn Boxes
Was your loved one a wine or whiskey lover? Sleek and minimalist, these modern urn boxes are made with reclaimed wood from whiskey and wine oak barrels. If you're looking for a memorial that's meaningful and have a contemporary design, these urns seamlessly blend into any home décor.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Easy
Cost: Low
Uniqueness: Medium
Environmentally Friendly: High
Level of Personalization: Low-Medium
Keepsake Urns
Keepsake urns are a heartfelt way to hold a small portion of your loved one’s ashes. These artistic mini urns are ideal for sharing ashes among family members or for keeping a small memorial at home or on the go.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Easy
Uniqueness: Low
Cost: Very Low
Level of Personalization: Low
Host A Water Scattering Ceremony
Water scattering ceremonies offer a serene and reflective way to say goodbye. Whether it’s a river, lake, or ocean, the flowing water symbolizes the continuity of life.
If you're looking for some ideas to make your water ceremony special and meaningful, check out our sea scattering ideas guide.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: High
Cost: Low-Medium
Uniqueness: Medium
Level of Personalization: High
Create a Cremation Art Memorial
Want to create something beautiful out of your loved one's ashes? Blown glass artists will take their ashes and infuse them into a piece of blown glass art.
These creative artists can create stunning pieces such as cremation paperweights, sculptures, orbs, suncatchers, and much more.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Low-Medium
Cost: Low-Medium
Uniqueness: High
Level of Personalization: High
Keepsake Jewelry
If you're looking for a simple type of cremation jewelry which contains a very small portion of your loved one's ashes, choosing a keepsake piece is a great idea.
Keepsake Jewelry can be crafted using various materials such as sterling silver, gold, and glass, and come in forms like necklaces, rings, and bracelets.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Low
Cost: Low
Level of Personalization: Medium
Uniqueness: Medium
Memorial Forests
Imagine your loved one’s ashes nurturing a tree , providing life, and becoming part of a thriving forest ecosystem. That’s the idea behind scattering ashes in memorial forests.
It’s a beautiful, natural, and eco-friendly way to honor the memory of a loved one. In memorial forests, ashes are typically scattered around a special tree or mixed with the soil, providing a meaningful resting place for your loved one.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Medium
Cost: High
Uniqueness: Medium
Level of Personalization: Medium
Cremation Ring
Cremation rings are a beautiful way to memorialize a loved one. These rings can be made from materials like sterling silver, gold, or diamonds and often feature stones that can be personalized with colors reflecting the deceased’s birthstone.
The process involves selecting a design, sending in the ashes, and receiving a handcrafted ring, with any unused ashes returned to the owner.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Low- Medium
Cost: Low, Medium, & High (All Budgets)
Level of Personalization: High
Uniqueness: High
Cremation Pendants
Cremation pendants or necklaces come in various designs, such as hearts and nature themes, allowing for personal expression while keeping memories close. These pendants can be made from materials like stainless steel, gold, silver, and glass. They often feature inscriptions or important symbols like the Tree of Life or Angels to add personal significance.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Low- Medium
Cost: Low to Medium
Level of Personalization: High
Uniqueness: High
Celebrate with a Fireworks Display
Incorporating cremation ashes into a fireworks display offers a truly spectacular send-off. This celebration involves the release of the departed's spirit and can be tailored with specific colors, sizes, and designs to reflect their personality. Only licensed pyrotechnic companies can create cremation fireworks, ensuring safety and compliance with regulations.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Medium to High
Cost: High
Level of Personalization: Medium
Uniqueness: High
Commission a Cremation Portrait
Commissioning a cremation portrait is a unique way to keep the memory of your loved one alive. Artists can mix cremation ashes with paint to create a personalized portrait. It’s important to select an artist whose style matches your vision and to provide specific details and reference images to ensure the final portrait meets your expectations.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Medium
Cost: High
Level of Personalization: High
Uniqueness: High
Plant a Memorial Tree
A wonderful way to create a living legacy is by planting a tree with an urn containing cremation ashes. These urns often contain tree or wildflower seeds and allow the ashes to decompose naturally while the seeds grow. This method not only honors your loved one but also contributes to the environment by fostering new growth.
It serves as a permanent living legacy, blending the memory of your loved one with the beauty of nature.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Medium
Cost: Low
Level of Personalization: Medium
Uniqueness: Medium
Memorial Tattoos
Unique memorial tattoos are an increasingly popular way to honor a loved one by incorporating their cremation ashes into the tattoo ink. A small amount of ashes, usually less than a tablespoon, is blended with standard tattoo ink for the tattooing process.
Make sure you seek out a tattoo artist experienced in using cremation ashes to ensure everything runs smoothly.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Medium
Cost: Medium-High
Level of Personalization: High
Uniqueness: High
Level of Pain: High!
Space Burial
A space burial offers a unique final tribute for those who dreamed of reaching the stars. It involves sending cremation ashes into orbit or on missions to celestial bodies, providing a remarkable send off.
Whether it’s a mission to the Moon or a suborbital flight, space burials are a spectacular tribute for those who loved spending time looking up at the stars.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Medium
Cost: High
Level of Personalization: Medium
Uniqueness: High
Cremation Diamonds
Cremation diamonds are a sparkling way to keep your loved ones close, quite literally turning ashes into something precious. A small amount of cremated ashes is gently transformed under high heat and pressure, mimicking nature’s own way of making diamonds.
People choose cremation diamonds because they provide a comforting, stylish, and meaningful way to remember someone special. It's a wearable tribute, a tiny shining memory you can carry wherever life takes you.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Medium
Time To Organize: High
Cost: Very High
Level of Personalization: Medium
Uniqueness: High
Turn Ashes into a Coral Reef
Transforming cremation ashes into a coral reef is a beautiful way to create a living memorial. The concrete reef made from ashes serves as a habitat for fish and sea life.This method not only honors your loved one but also contributes to the environment by fostering marine life.
The cost for creating a concrete reef typically ranges from $3,000 to $9,000, depending on the specifics of the memorial.
The Highlights:
Difficulty To Organize: Medium
Cost: Very High
Level of Personalization: Medium
Uniqueness: High
What About Our Beloved Pets?
We haven't forgotten about our special furry friends, and there is no reason why you can't use some of the ideas above.
In saying that, there are a number of memorials specifically for pets, which tend to be pet urns and pet cremation jewelry.