Deep down, no one wants to be the same as everybody else. When it comes to honoring the people that we love, we want to show just how wonderful those people are. In recent years, more non-conventional ways to honor and memorialize our loved ones have begun to be talked about such as memorial garden, ashes into diamonds, ashes into a glass and many others. If you are looking for a unique way to memorialize your loved ones, here are eight ideas that might be worth a closer look.
Fireworks
Memorial fireworks with loved one ashes
If your loved one had a particular fondness for the Fourth of July, there are companies that can put their ashes into fireworks. This process creates a beautiful display that can be enjoyed by everyone. These fireworks can be in a variety of colors and shapes, making a truly impressive show. It does all of this while honoring the memory of your fireworks-loving loved one. In a similar vein, if hunting was more your loved one’s style, there are companies that will put human ashes into ammunition. The ashes can go into the ammunition for a pistol, a shotgun, or a rifle, allowing your loved one to go with you the next time you go hunting. At least, they will be with you in some form.
Keepsake Cremation Diamonds
Colourless cremation diamond from ashes into a ring
If your loved one was as tough as a rock but shiny and beautiful at the same time, you should consider making a cremation diamond as a way to memorialize them. This process makes diamonds from human ashes, a diamond that is called a keepsake diamond, memorial diamond, or a death diamond. After your loved one has been cremated, you send their ashes or hair to a professional company. One example of a company is the Swiss Lonite who can use the ashes to make a diamond in the color and cut of your choice. This idea, diamonds made from ashes, is a beautiful one that can help, in some ways, process the grief that comes from the loss of a close friend or family member. As the ashes are compressed and heated before becoming a beautiful diamond, grief hurts. However, the end result will be beautiful, a memory of the good times. Just like this process is turning ashes into a diamond, eventually, you will be left with mostly the good memories.
Volunteering
Did your loved one have a favorite charity or cause that they loved to support? If so, a way to memorialize them would be to make a donation to their favorite charity. If you can afford it, you could start a charity, a foundation, a scholarship fund, or something else that they believed in wholeheartedly. Having this run in their name can be a wonderful way to honor their life. Another way to memorialize them is to pick up their volunteering times. By doing so, you will be a part of the cause that your loved one gave so much to over the years. You will also have a chance to meet people that knew your loved one in a different context than you did. By sharing stories and talking about them with other people whose lives they touched, they are memorialized.
Art
A memorial stained glass with ashes
If you are looking for a way to memorialize your loved one in your home, there are several options to choose from. One unique idea is to have your loved one’s ashes combined with the glass to make a stained-glass window. This is a beautiful but smaller piece that can very clearly reflect the personality of your loved one. If you want to do something artistic without using the ashes of your loved one, a mural might be a way to go. The idea behind this is similar to the stained-glass window – you take colors and patterns that show who your loved one was and have that added to a wall in your house. This is a unique way to memorialize them; each piece is unique to the person it is painted for and about. You can either paint it yourself or hire a professional, depending on your own artistic abilities.
Tattoos
Memorial tattoo with loved one ashes
Memorial tattoos can be a fun way to memorialize a loved one. It can be a tattoo from something that you did together, a tattoo of something that reminds you of them, or a tattoo with some of their ashes mixed with the ink. Although not every tattoo artist does this, some do. This is an idea called a memorial tattoo, a ritual tattoo, or a commemorative tattoo. The idea is that you have a piece of your loved one inside of you forever now. Some doctors worry about infection, but some tattoo artists say that it is a regular practice that is clean and sterile. If that idea seems like too much, a tattoo honoring your loved one could be something simple and easy, like their favorite flower or their name. Tattoos are a permanent piece of you so this would be a permanent memorial to your loved one.
Memorial Garden
A loved one memorial garden
While memorial trees or memorial benches are fairly common ways to remember a loved one, an entire memorial garden can be a unique way to honor your loved one, especially if they enjoyed working with flowers. Some people take this a step further and have painted rocks in their gardens as well. These rocks can be painted with something that reminds you of your loved one, and then placed around your memorial garden. They can also be hidden in your community, therefore getting other people involved in the process of honoring the life of your loved one.
Stuffed Animals
A stuffed animal
Another option that is increasingly gaining in popularity as a way to memorialize loved ones is to make stuffed animals. These stuffed animals can be made in one of two ways. You can take a piece of clothing that your loved one wore frequently and make it into a stuffed animal or a blanket. This allows you to keep that piece of clothing close, as it possibly makes you smile when you see it because of all the memories. The second option is to use the ashes of your loved one and have them put inside a stuffed animal. Some people find this idea comforting while others find it a little frightening. Both are a way to memorialize your loved ones.
Whatever interests your loved one had, there are plenty of creative options to memorialize them. Remembering them and the impact that they had on your life and the lives of others is the most important thing, whether that means volunteering, making their ashes into a keepsake diamond, planting a memorial garden and filling it with rocks, or some combination of all three. The unique way to memorialize your loved one should be something that reminds you of them. It should be something that allows you to remember them fondly, while still looking forward.
Build a Reef
An artificial reef made with loved one ashes
An idea that is becoming popular is an environmentally conscious one. As the future of many coral reefs is believed to be poor, some companies are using a combination of human ash and concrete to create artificial reefs. While these are only artificial coral reefs, they are still providing a much-needed habitat for creatures whose homes have been destroyed. If your loved one enjoyed the ocean, or had a passion for conservation, this might be an excellent option for their ashes. If this seems like too much to you, a donation to help save the coral reefs is also a way to memorialize your loved one.
