Cremation Urns, Keepsake Urns and Cremation Jewelry are topics families often ask us about. Here at A Journey With Wings, we scatter cremated remains by airplane. Many family members wish to have keep a portion of the cremated remains and scatter the rest. For this reason, they would need an urn.
A full-size cremation urn would be used if only a portion of the cremated remains are scattered, and the rest would be kept in an urn. These urns can be traditional or non-traditional. A traditional urn is what most likely comes to mind when you think of an urn – it is made for this purpose and can usually be purchased through a mortuary or crematory. A non-traditional urn can be anything that is used to hold the cremated remains. I have seen people use jewelry boxes or small treasure chests. They can be as unique as the life of the deceased.
A keepsake urn is usually a smaller than a typical urn and is used for keeping just a small amount of cremated remains. Typically, a keepsake urn purchased through a mortuary would hold a few teaspoons of cremated remains. And a non-traditional keepsake urn can be used as well. For instance, when my brother-in-law passed away last year, we ordered little sterling silver pirate chests and had them engraved. These urns were then distributed to his loved ones. We scattered the majority of his ashes.
Cremation jewelry can vary in so many ways. Some cremation jewelry is actually a tiny urn that is part of a piece of jewelry. I have seen pendants that are angels or hearts that have a small reservoir that can hold a tiny amount of cremated remains inside. These pendants can be worn as necklaces or bracelets, or used as key chains. Then there is the kind of cremation jewelry that incorporates the cremated remains into the jewelry itself. I have seen hand blown glass that includes small portions of cremated remains into the glass. These glass pieces can be worn as pendants or displayed as remembrance pieces of art.
When it comes to urns, the options are endless. I don’t recommend that you handle the cremated remains yourself, however – that should be done by a professional. The ashes should be placed in a plastic container inside of whatever urn you choose so nothing spills or leaks out. Also, some states have laws regarding splitting cremated remains. Here in California, a separate burial permit is required to accompany each portion of the cremated remains. Your funeral director can help you with this. If you are using A Journey With Wings to scatter the cremated remains, we would be honored to help you with your keepsake urn options and the associated paperwork. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.