What To Do With The Ashes

I recently lost a dear pet companion; with his cremation, I have some decisions to make about how to deal with the ashes. Because one of my goals for this column is to give you the information you may not have the resources or time to find for yourself, I’m sharing what I’ve learned. How you deal with the ashes may affect your home decor.

Who knew you could have a pet’s ashes incorporated into jewelry or a glass globe? The white swirls in the glass are the actual ashes; they are beautiful pieces but with the white swirl they mean so much more.

Or, of course, there is the tiny cylinder you can add to a chain and wear as a pendant or attach to a key-chain. You can have the ashes mixed with an artist’s paint to create an image of your pet.

If you want to scatter the ashes but you don’t want to risk any blow-back, you can purchase a water-soluble shell, urn or box. It’s a biodegradable product which dissolves on contact with water.  

Have the ashes put inside bullets, or in fireworks. — I rather like this one, to tell the truth.

And, (I’m not making this one up) you could have the ashes incorporated into the ink of a tattoo; apparently, this is not as dangerous as it sounds. I don’t know.

Or why not send some of the ashes off to be added to the concrete walls being formed to aid some coral reefs, or create reef balls?  Did you know you can send ashes into space, too?  And if you know a wood-worker, a bird-feeder-style ash holder can be used as a real bird feeder after the ashes are scattered. Or, have the ashes added to a special tree-growing mix. You get to grow a tree nourished with the ashes.

Now, if you decide to keep the ashes at home, please remember that many people may be uncomfortable if they know there are cremated ashes in the room. Just like personal photos should be displayed in personal rooms only, keep these very personal ashes out of the public spaces. Choose a vessel in keeping with the style of your room. A ming-styled vase will create a lot of visual commotion in your pared-down wood-dominant decor.

I think the watch-word for cremation urns in home decor is ‘understated’; don’t make the urn a focal point. Choose material and color that will blend into the room; things will be much more peaceful if you do.