How to Create a Custom Urn

If you decide that you would like to preplan for your funeral and memorial service, one of the aspects you might want to consider is having a custom urn created for your cremains. When you create a custom urn, you get a completely unique urn designed to your specifications that represents you and honors your life in a lasting memorial. But how do you get started making a custom urn? Where should you begin? We've compiled several helpful steps to ensure that the urn creation process goes smoothly for you.

Fill Out a Request for Estimate. First things first, you have to make a connection with a company that can help you create a custom urn. Many sites have a "request an estimate" button on their site. This will get the ball rolling.

Contact an Artist. In fact, this is probably going to happen vice versa and an artist will contact you. Depending on the medium that you want to use and the type of cremation urn you are interested in having made for you, an artist who specializes in that particular medium (be it stone, metal or ceramics) will contact you to get started on designing your urn.

Receive First Draft of Design Concept. Once you and your artist have talked, they will work on a sketch of their interpretation of your ideas for the perfect memorial urn for you. When you get the initial sketch, it might be exactly what you were hoping for, or it might take a little more feedback before it's perfect. When you work with an artist to create a custom urn, you have to be willing to give honest and constructive feedback on the first few iterations of the design.

Send in Revisions. As stated above, when you send in your revisions, make sure to communicate your changes as clearly as possible so that the artist can make the right changes. They understand that having a urn made, whether it's for you or for a loved one, is an emotional subject and will be very understanding, but it's important to be as communicative as you can be.

Sign off on the Final Design. Typically you are allowed three revisions before the final design needs to be made. This is not because the artists are trying to be difficult, but to prevent your urn from being stuck in the planning stages for months. After the third (or first, if you love it right off the bat) revision, you'll sign off on the design and the artist will begin to create a custom urn just for you.

Receive your Custom Urn. Depending on the intricacy of the design and materials used, your custom urn can take some time to arrive, but once it does, you'll be happy that you decided to create a custom urn for your memorial.

Melody Jamali is the Founder and President of ( Une Belle Vie ), a Colorado company dedicated to bringing choice of cremation to public light. Their company offers the widest selection in decorative urns for cremation and includes a wide collection of resources designed to help families and friends in their time of need. From tool for the grieving to informative articles about planning, support and other uplifting thoughts, Une Belle Vie is a company dedicated to helping your celebrate the life of the one you love - on your terms.

Things To Consider When Purchasing A Cremation Urn

Cremation is quickly becoming the most common choice when it comes to funeral arrangements and this has given rise to a whole new industry selling cremation products. This includes keepsakes, cremation jewelry and commemorative cremation urns in which to store loved ones' ashes. Funeral homes often supply an urn for you but they are generally mass produced and very basic. This often feels wrong for someone's final resting place. However, it is possible to find a range of beautiful urns for sale online which are much more fitting for your needs.

Think About What You Need

Like so many other products, if you turn to the internet you will find endless resources and a long list of retailers offering cremation urns for sale. This can be somewhat overwhelming, so it is a good idea to think about what you are looking for before you start to look online. Think about what you will do with the urn. Is it to be displayed in your home? If so you will want something in keeping with your home's interior décor and something attractive. It may be the case that you want something that is not instantly recognizable as an urn. Alternatively, you might be thinking about urn burial in which case you need to choose biodegradable materials, or you could be looking for a set of smaller urns to distribute to the family. Establishing exactly what your needs re is the first step to refining your search and could save you hours of research.

Choosing The Right Material

You might already have an idea of the type of material you would like for the urn and this is another way to refine your search. The most common type of cremation urn is a ceramic one and these can be purchased in many colors and designs. However, there are also plenty of alternatives including metal, wood, stone and glass. When choosing the material, and of course the color it is usually a good idea to keep the deceased in mind. It seems inappropriate to store their ashes in a green ceramic urn if you know that they really hated that particular color. Also, choosing a particular color can help evoke happy memories.

A cremation urn is something special and it deserves plenty of care and attention when you are choosing one. This is not a decision to be rushed into. Think carefully about what your needs are and about what the departed loved one would have a preference for as their final resting place.

Choosing An Urn For A Loved Ones Ashes

When someone that you have been close to for your entire life passes away it can be devastating. While you are trying to deal with the grief, you may also be tasked with taking care of their funeral arrangements which may be one of the most difficult task we ever have to face. If your loved one has expressed a desire to be cremated, then you will have to decide what to do with the remains. Some families prefer to scatter the ashes in a special location or in a garden of remembrance, but others prefer to buy a keepsake urn to keep them in.

Choices As Unique As The Individual

Everyone has different personalities and different tastes, there is no 'one size fits all'. You would expect to choose clothing and home décor that fits your own style, so why should the final resting place be any different. When choosing an urn for a loved ones ashes, it is essential that you consider what best reflects the person that they were. You will find a huge variety of styles and colors to choose from, not to mention different materials. Think about the person's sense of style. If they were an outdoors type, then you might prefer a beautiful urn carved from wood, but if they were more of a contemporary person then a metallic design might seem more appropriate.

Choosing An Appropriate Size Of Urn

One of the most common questions regarding urns is what size they should be. The standard recommendation is for 1 cubic inch for every 1 pound of body weight. A standard cremation urn is around 200 cubic inches. However, you can purchase larger or smaller ones as required. It is common sense that an adult will need a larger urn than a child or a pet. There may also be situations where several family members would like a portion of the ashes, in which case smaller ' partial' urns are available. These can sometimes be known as keepsake urns. It is also common for couples to wish to be 'buried' together. This also applies in the case of cremation. If this is the case, then you will need a companion urn which is large enough to hold the remains of both people.

Burying Your Urn

There are a growing number of people who have expressed a wish to be cremated, but have indicated that the remains are to be buried. If you wish to bury an urn then it is best to choose one which is not going to affect the environment. There are plenty of biodegradable options available to you if urn burial is something that interests you.