Life in the Garden

Matters of Life and Death

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Scattering Ashes At Sea: How to Avoid Blow Back

For families that are planning to scatter ashes over the water, the natural choice is one of our shell urns, or the aqua sea burial urn. Families that think they can save a dollar by using the plastic temporary ash urn that they get at the funeral home are in for a surprise when the urn washes up on shore.

paddle out ceremony

We’ve covered the paddle-out ceremony, popular in California and Hawaii.

Lately,  we’ve seen a trend in North Carolina purchasing the shell urn for a sea burial. The nice thing about the shell urns are that they are over sized and can fit two sets of ashes or notes, flowers, and mementos.

When scattering over a body of water a water-soluble urn can enhance the experience. Our water urns are specifically designed to gradually disperse the ashes back to the sea. Ashes can be cast directly into the water, but will often blow back and cling to sides of the boat. This can be both frustrating and unsightly. Scattering ashes DOES NOT have to be this tricky.

shell cremation urn

A water-soluble urn will usually float for several minutes then slowly sink where it will degrade or melt back to the sea. Friends and family will often toss flowers, wreaths, or petals as a final tribute as the urn slowly drifts away.

floral wreath on the water

water soluble urns for ashes

ash scattering urns

Who Loves Raku? I Do!

 

We just picked up some new Raku pottery pieces that we’re slowly adding to the site.

raku urns

Raku is a Japanese style and the name means “joy” and that’s exactly what you get when you take one look at these gorgeous vessels. One of the things that makes this style of pottery special, is that the firing process literally creates a trash to treasure effect.  It’s not uncommon for potters to remove the vessel from the kiln and then put it in a garbage can surrounded by bits of wire, wood, and other combustibles. After the flame is lit, that’s when the magic happens. The fire and smoke create the beauty.

raku urns for sale

Celtic urns are a popular choice for a memorial, and this one of a kind art piece uses copper glazes and features a hand-carved Celtic knot emblem on the urn.

The sad thing about these urns, is that the pictures don’t do them justice.  They are much more attractive than depicted here and if you see one you like, don’t hesitate, as several customers have called when they were ready to buy, only to discover that the urn had already sold. The good news is, we can make another one. Maybe not the exact urn you saw earlier, but close and maybe even better!

 

urns for ashes

Heart Keepsake Urns

Several clients have requested that we carry the metal heart keepsake urns.  We’ve just added them to our inventory and have several styles available.

The heart keepsake urns are designed to hold a small portion of ash, lock of hair or other small memento. The hearts load from the bottom and are secured with a threaded stopper.

This style is ideal for families or friends that want to create a small memorial that can easily be stored and is discreet. Many of our keepsake urns have matching adult urns.