DIY Cremation Urns
DIY Cremation Urns
If you are hoping to lower funeral costs and also personalize a memorial ceremony beyond the usual lineup of music-slideshow-eulogy, you may want to consider making your own cremation urn. Although you will need to have some artistic and/or woodworking skills to reach your desired result, you might be surprised at how many unique (and affordable) options are out there.
- Woodworking Urn: These woodworking plans are designed to guide you through a cremation urn for a pet, but you can also adjust the sizes in order to make one for the remains of a human loved one. These tend to be the most elegant and traditional of all the DIY cremation boxes.
- “Memories” Urn: If you have small mementos that belonged to the deceased (or that mean something to you), you can create an urn similar to this one. The pieces are glued onto a simple container and arranged for maximum artistic detail. Be sure to use a durable, lasting glue and consider shellacking the exterior to ensure the urn does not lose pieces over time.
- Decoupage Urn: Cardboard boxes won’t last as long as ones made of ceramic or wood, but they provide a great base for decoupage. You can use photos of the deceased, newspaper clippings of his/her life, and other personal images to decorate the exterior of a box. It can serve as the receptacle for the ashes or an outer container for a sturdier urn.
- Pottery Urn: Traditionally, cremation urns are made of some type of pottery/ceramic. If you have skills with a potter’s wheel or access to a ceramic facility, you can try your hand at making a personalized pottery urn. (If your skills do not run that high, you may also be able to purchase an unfired urn that was made by someone else and then do the glazing portion yourself.)
Urns provide a great way for customizing a funeral, since they come in all shapes, types, and sizes. And because there are few regulations in place regarding what you can and cannot keep cremated remains in, you have room to be creative.
Making a lasting tribute to someone you love can be a great way to release emotional energy and to revisit old memories. DIY cremation urns might not be the mainstream choice, but they can be a lovely addition to your home or columbarium niche.
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