Americans Trading Caskets For Urns

Funeral CasketToday most Americans are trading the tradition of a casket for burial and opting for a cremation urn to memorialize a loved one forever. The urn provides family members with a part of someone they cared for forever. It can be passed on for generations. Urns For AshesThe urn represents a significant symbol – the final resting place for a person who meant so much to everyone he or she touched. Whether it’s the centerpiece of a room or placed on a mantel or another meaningful place, family members can select an urn that is quite elegant or matches the deceased one’s style for a way to honor and remember the person.

                More Then Half of All Americans Now Choose Cremation
                                Making Cremation The New Tradition

When choosing between a burial or cremation, loved ones are faced with the many pros and cons of each option. However, the benefits of choosing cremation and an urn are plentiful. In fact, it’s becoming the most popular option for numerous reasons. First and foremost, a cremation is a more cost-effective solution, especially for those who have limited funds but still want to honor a life well lived and the true meaning of their lives. The cost of an urn and cremation is much less than a cemetery plot, burial and casket, and it still recognizes the significance of the person and their life. Additionally, an urn is more eco-friendly. Due to its smaller stature, it takes less material to make. The casket remains in the ground forever, which doesn’t help the environment. Cemeteries are slowly filling up, which will eventually cause a shortage of areas for burial spaces. A cremation urn eliminates all of this. This allows families to utilize the vessel as a centerpiece or focal point in a room and complement their tastes. Another pro of choosing an urn is that the person is with their family. This alleviates the need for the person to commute to the cemetery to visit with a loved one, which is beneficial for those who are busy and still want to be close. Family will always be able to be close, no matter what their schedule. It’s also emotionally difficult for many people to visit a cemetery, but cremation alleviates this fear and unpleasant feeling.

Funeral Urns
Choices!

People aren’t limited whenever they purchase an urn, whether they select one prior to their passing or designate an individual to take on this responsibility. Firstly, a wide variety of materials are available to select from such as stone, wood, metal and ceramic. Some vessels are even biodegradable for those who choose to return to the earth. They come in various styles but all have an inner chamber of at least 225 cubic inches, this allows the urn to hold all of the ashes of an adult. Urns that are smaller are called keepsake or sharing urns. They vary dramatically in style and size. Even smaller is cremation jewelry, this style of jewelry holds just a pinch of ashes.
Families may opt for other types of urns that are meant to solely scatter the ashes and may be used for other purposes. Some scattering urns are specifically designed for individuals to spread the ashes through the air. Once they’re no longer used to store the ashes, they may be recycled since many of them are compromised of biodegradable materials. Birdhouse urns store the ashes, and then convert into a birdhouse that acts as a memorial and provides a home for wildlife.
Obviously, nobody wants to think of a loved one dying, but an urn may help to comfort the person by allowing him or her to act out his or her loved ones wishes. It lets the individual remain close to family and be a part of them for always. The urn helps the person to cope and even be with him or her forever.
While it’s a difficult decision to make, Cremation Solutions wants to help comfort the family and fulfill the deceased one’s wishes. We know losing someone who is close to you is difficult enough without having any added stress. That’s why we work with individuals to find the ideal urn for their future resting place. Whether we work with the individual or their family, we strive to find them the best solution to meet their needs and desires. We’re here to answer questions regarding urns and discuss all of the options. Call or email us today with questions or to schedule a meeting to discuss the available options in person.

Alternatives to Flying Dead Cats

Urns For Cat Ashes
Cat Turned Drone!

Turning dead cats into drones is all the rage these days…NOT! Though it is a really modern thing that freaks can do with their pets, I think that propellers are best reserved for planes and dunce caps. BUT we are going to discuss it anyway because Mommy let the geek squad out and they just love their dead pets. Cats and dogs just don’t live very long when compared to their humans, but you can bring them into their forever heavenly future by converting them into your special little flying friends. It doesn’t get anymore modern and ‘twenty-first century’ than flying drones, am I right? AKA “Cloud Cats,” not to be confused with the sail cats that are found on the road.


Bart Jansen is a rather confused Dutch artist who tragically lost his poor cat Orville to the horrors of a road accident, an all too familiar fate for cats on their tenth life everywhere. He had a truly innovative way of coping with the grief that he felt towards the loss of Orville. He worked with the freak geek and part time taxidermist/engineer Arjen Beltman to turn Orville into a flying drone, thus immortalizing him in a truly unique way.

He worked his taxidermy magic on Orville preserving and shaping him into an aerodynamic marvel. Cat bodies really don’t make the best construction materials but their skin is soft and fluffy. However once you skin and preserve them and attach them to the lightweight frame and install drone guts it makes purrrr..fect sense, and is really just taking the entire process to the logical conclusion. (Everybody knows that).

Did he do this out of some spiritual kinship he has with the Wright brothers, one of whom was named Orville Wright? Did he do this out of a desire to jump on the trend of drones in the world of the twenty-first century? Is Bart Jansen behaving in the manner of many artists, who are known for doing things like cutting off portions of their ears in order to express their emotions? The important thing is that Bart Jansen has started a trend, and you can now immortalize your pets in the exact same way! Or simply have your cat cremated and as an alternative use the ashes to make all kinds of cool stuff that was just too simple for Mr. Jansen.

Bart Jansen and his team are now turning all sorts of dead animals into flying drones. Obviously, most of them are just animals that they have picked up off of the street. The drivers who carelessly run over animals are no longer public threats – they are now inadvertently supporting a growing business! The animals that die in the street now get to be part of a new movement that turns animals into modern, state-of-the-art technology.

That's Another Story!
That’s Another Story!

However, there are some people who really don’t like to get all trendy with their pet funeral arrangements. Some people believe that grieving is best done in a way that has worked for hundreds of years, and jumping on the hip new way to grieve just won’t work for them. As much as they would love to turn their beloved pets into flying drones that would buzz around for the world to see, some people would rather symbolically return their pets to the Earth through cremation. And they do this by purchasing a beautiful cremation urn that will allow them to commemorate their pets in a way that is tried and true.

Pets-Cats-Dogs Cremation Jewelry Urns- all of these have been going hand in hand for a very long time now. People should try to focus on and stick with the basics. Having your poor deceased pet flying through the sky like a remote-controlled toy helicopter might be all right for some people, but others will have a hard time sacrificing the gentle and dark beauty of cremation jewelry and a cremation urn.

Some people will scatter the cremated ashes of their pets around a beautiful landscape, which is returning them to the air and the earth. Some would say that turning a pets body into a drone really is not much different from that. However, many other people care deeply about making mourning private, and turning a pet into a drone just brings the public into their grieving process.

After all, drones are getting popular so fast that lawmakers are having a hard time keeping up. Jansen learned the hard way when he was heavily fined by the FAA and forced to remove the red laser eyes that were a real blinding danger to the unsuspecting pilots that just couldn’t keep their eyes of his amazing flying feline. People are still very wary and quiet suspicious of the flying pet cemetery. Most people still don’t know what to make of the most basic drones, let alone the drones that look like a cute pet that normally just jumps for food or a treat before safely landing. Bart Jansen has created a trend that is nowhere close to becoming normalized, and every time he and his team creates a new propellor creature, it is on the international news! Go figure?

Most people don’t want their dead pets getting that much attention. They would rather privately weep and mourn, keeping their pets close to their hearts in a way that just doesn’t work with a drone…but you can’t resist teasing the neighborhood dogs with an always just out of reach cat treat!

Urns For Cats
Cat Urn Alternative (Click Here)

Of course, for some people, this is all about aesthetics. A flying drone that looks like a stretched and gutted cat just doesn’t coincide with the aesthetic sensibilities of a nice cat urn with a tasteful picture of their kitty on the side. Seeing something like Orval can cause nightmares for weeks and pet parents will just struggle to get the mental image out of their minds. You could say that these people are Luddites, or you could say that they should have more evolved aesthetic sensibilities. One way or another, they’re just not going to see the beauty that these Dutch freaks have created with their ever growing fleet of buzzing skinned dead creatures. As they say, let the ostriches keep their heads in the sand and their feet on the ground.

However, a lovely cremation necklace that allows you to wear some of your cat’s ashes around your neck is just the sort of symbolic gesture that many people love. A cremation urn that rests on the shelf with majesty and artistic perfection is hard to beat. These items will keep the ashes of a pet safe, preserving their remains for all eternity. It’s true that the urns and necklaces can’t fly, and flying does indeed make things cooler. But some people just can’t go for that fancy modern stuff. They’re okay with the drones that fly overhead and take pictures of celebrities and the big one’s that Obama is so found of, but they have other goals for the remains of their dearly departed pets.

Silver-Bone
Jewelry That Holds Pet Ashes

Cremation jewelry is timeless. Cremation urns are timeless. People use them to mourn their loved ones, whether they walk on four legs, two legs, or zero legs. If you want your cat to fly, use an ash scattering tube when the wind is just right. Eventually, people will be able to turn all of their relatives into flying drones after a tragic demise, and the people who stick with the old fashioned and traditional funeral services may have to defend their choices. However, for the time being, it seems that most people would prefer to keep their pets with them and not worry about the confused hunters trying shoot down their pets and completely destroying these marvelous flying machines that put no meat on the table. What a waste!

The Beauty of Cremation

Walking The Line

There are so many reasons that more and more people are now choosing cremation. Here are some of the main reasons that half of all deaths now elect cremation as the final disposition.

  • More Economical
  • A Greener Earth Friendly Option
  • Less Time Sensitive (Freedom of Time)
  • Easier, No Cemetery Required
  • Endless Memorialization Options
  • Don’t Want To Take Up Space (Land)
  • Like The Idea Of Scattering Ashes
  • Religious Freedom
    Cremation Growth Rate

Funeral CostCOST: When you get down to the basic cost of a funeral, cremation can be significantly cheaper. The average traditional funeral these days can cost $8,000.00 to $15,000.00 or more. And a basic cremation is $1,000.00 to $2,000.00. Why such a broad range in price? Simple, it depends on who you call! And of course the choices that you make. Over the years, I have noticed something about how the general public describes the cost of a funeral that I would like to clear up right now. I noticed that when people quote the cost of a traditional funeral they tend to group all of the related costs together! For example “Mom’s Funeral Cost $18,00.00”… but the actual funeral costs might have been $8,000.00 and included the cost of a cemetery plot, digging the grave, flying in certain relatives, putting aunt Millie up at the Hilton and a $6,000.00 reception at a catering hall. But when quoting the cost of cremation people tend to just quote the basic cost “Instead of having a funeral Dad was cremated and it only cost $995.00”. They don’t mention the $10,000.00 memorial catering cost at the country club, the band and the travel costs! So this is one reason the difference in Cremation versus a Traditional Funeral seems like a huge difference in cost. In actuality Cremation is just a disposition like burial is a disposition and all the related costs depends on the CHOICES THAT WE MAKE. “The cremation cost $995.00”. The burial including the purchase of the plot and digging the grave might only cost $2,000.00 but people never just quote this cost, they lump it all together with the choices that they make. These are the conversations that really annoy funeral directors and instantly put them on the defense of the funeral costs.

What really annoys this particular funeral director is the general consensus that cremation means there isn’t a funeral. “There’s no funeral…he’s being cremated”! The truth is just the opposite. With cremation you can have any kind of funeral you want, even a traditional funeral! The only real difference is that instead of the body going to the cemetery, it goes to the crematory. Remember that cremation like burial is just the final disposition. The word “Funeral” simply means that the body is present at the funeral service. If you have a service without the body present because it was already buried or cremated then we use the term “Memorial Service” or other phrases like a Celebration of Life or a Going Home Ceremony. But if the body is not there it’s not a funeral.

Green AshesGREEN: The general public perceives cremation as a greener alternative to burial. A traditional burial takes up land permanently. And the chemicals that are used for embalming are cancerous and could leak into the water table. Here in the US an outer concrete burial vault is used and requires the manufacture of 1.6 tons of concrete and steel, leaving a large carbon footprint through the process of manufacturing. The caskets are often made of steel and many are shipped here from China (not green). Wooden caskets that are made from unsustainable sources like mahogany destroy the rain forest. BUT cremation isn’t exactly green either! Cremation involves burning fossil fuels (not green) and can release mercury from dental fillings into the air. What’s really green is called “Green Burial” and is only permitted in a natural burial site. More and more of these types of cemeteries are becoming available. Green burial is a burial in a naturally biodegradable casket or shroud with no embalming and no burial vault in a shallow grave. Green burial is the most natural and greenest disposition of all.

TIME: Because we usually want to get people buried in the ground before they rapidly begin to decompose, a burial requires a time frame of urgency that demands some fast leg work and usually having the funeral with in a week! And if you are Jewish then you’re supposed to have the burial by sundown of the day after death! With cremation you have nothing but time. Of course if you’re going to have public visitation with the body present you are back on a time line. But once the cremation is complete the ashes have no “shelf life” and you can plan a memorial celebration of life at your convenience. (WARNING) There is still such thing as waiting too long. Sometimes to meet the schedules of so many, the services are put off for months. For example, when someone dies in the Fall and the family elects to wait until the Spring and make the services part of the family reunion at the club. TOOOO Long! Remember that funerals are to support the living in their grief and loss. A proper memorial services lays the foundation for the healing to begin, just like a wedding provides a platform of support to the joining of a couple for life. With too much time in-between, the months leading up to the service can create more unnecessary grief for the survivors due to a lack of support.

Easier: Planning a funeral with the disposition of cremation can definitely be easier. You have the freedom of time on your side and don’t have to feel rushed about getting the person in the ground! You don’t have to select a casket, a vault, a cemetery plot, and other related items. You have the time to involve family members in the planning process and hopefully can create a memorable experience that will showcase a life well lived. Hire a certified celebrant and put some thought and time into this once in a lifetime event. You have one chance to do it right, so take your time and plan a Celebration of Life that people can connect with and relate to. This is why I promote Celebrant funerals and not some old 2,000 year old ceremony that an uninformed clergy member throws together! (Insert Name Here). Use the time to write down stories to share, collect pictures for display or better yet turn the pictures into a memorial video. Play the perfect music and serve the food that the deceased would be proud of! There are so many services available through your local funeral home that can add to the memorial ceremony experience, so use the time to learn about them. And do some research via the Internet on how to create a special and memorable memorial event.

Memorial Options: There are so many options available when you choose cremation. Like a Traditional Burial you can still have visitation with the body present for the final goodbyes and support for the family. You can also have an event in just about any public location that you desire. Consider a place that can handle the anticipated number of people who will attend. Choose a place where people are comfortable enough to join in and share a ceremony that will shine a spotlight on the life lived and the many ways that this person has affected the lives and the fabric of life. Use pictures, objects, belongings and stories to help those attending connect. The spirit of the deceased will often convey what would be appropriate for their personal celebration.

Cremation CasketThe money saved by choosing cremation can be used to purchase goods and services that will further personalize the experience of joining together to commemorate a life well lived. First, select a casket. This can be as simple as a cardboard box, a simple wooden box or an ornate cremation casket. They call these things alternative containers and by law you need one for cremation to take place.

If you are having a traditional viewing before the cremation then you should get a casket with a fabric interior that is suitable for public viewing. Most funeral homes rent caskets for this purpose and then a cardboard box is used for the actual cremation.

For the ceremony you can use things like memorial folders or prayer cards and custom programs that follow the services and can then be saved as a memory keepsake. Large photos, custom blankets and a video tribute can add to the memorial service. And a tree seedling or seeds that can be taken home and be planted in memory and will continue the circle of life.

Art Made With Ashes
Glass Art Made With Ashes

Cremation UrnIf an urn is used to hold the ashes, many put it on display at the service on a table or alter that is set with candles and flowers. When selecting an urn you should first know the final disposition of the ashes. Will they be kept at home on display, buried in the cemetery, placed in a niche, or scattered to the winds. Cremation urns are specially designed to suit all of these different destinations. Even floating biodegradable urns for scattering in lakes and oceans. One new style of urn converts into a birdhouse following the scattering of the ashes! With the new “Loved One Launcher” ashes can also be blasted 70 feet into the sky along with confetti and streamers. Talk about going out with a bang! When it comes to ashes there is no right or wrong way… just personal choices and family traditions. Often family members will use small keepsake urns to divide the ashes up between family and friends. These keepsake urns allow those who choose to scatter to retain a small amount of the ashes forever.

Ashes Jewelry
Jewelry To Hold Ashes

Cremation JeAshes inside Jewelrywelry serves a similar purpose and can be worn as a lasting tribute and close connection to the loved one. There is cremation jewelry that has an inner chamber to hold the ashes inside and also cremation jewelry that is custom made with the ashes.

Assorted Cremation Monuments

 

 

Even monuments are made that will hold the ashes inside as an alternative to burial. Some are styled like traditional monuments and many look like natural rocks and boulders that can blend right into the family garden. The advantage of cremation style monuments is that they can be moved as well as serve as a memorial focal point.

Scattering: The decision to scatter ashes is no longer unique. With more than half of all Americans and Canadians now choosing cremation.

Clem's Ash Scattering 2005.09.19 016Scattering is NOW the #1 disposition of cremated remains in the United States and Canada and continues to grow. Funeral professionals are the only ones that aren’t catching on. Most funeral professionals consider scattering a dirty and unprofitable choice of final disposition. They will help you get buried or interred. They will help you create funeral and memorial events. But when the choice is to scatter the ashes, they will help you as far as the door! Some of the more progressive funeral homes now offer special urns for families that choose to scatter the ashes, but that’s about as far as it goes.

Cremation can be an exciting and beautiful way to celebrate the deceased and bring together their friends and family for a positive and memorable experience. It provides an opportunity for the departed to bring together those that they leave behind and touched most during their life well lived. Cremation: it can be more economical; it can be greener; it allows for more time and planning; and it has infinite options only limited by the creativity of the living!

Man Dies and Birds Get a New Home!

Grandpas ashes in the gardenIn the past few weeks, I learned a lot about death and cremation. I was close with my Grandpa, but was shocked to see him pass. Afterwards, I had to help my family find the best ways to honor him at the funeral. This meant arranging the burial and making the decision to cremate. We wanted to find something beautiful that accurately depicted the type of person Grandpa was.
One of the things I will always remember about Grandpa is that he loved to watch the birds. He would wake up at 5:00 AM, brew his coffee and listen to the birds sing. Before he got sick, he built a stunning bird feeder that would attract some of the prettiest birds in the neighborhood.

Monument memorial
He Would Not Want to be Here

After he passed, we weren’t sure what to do. We knew that whatever we did to remember him by had to be ecofriendly and it needed to incorporate our fondest memories of him. I did some research, since I knew he wanted to be cremated, and found perfect solution. He loved working in his garden and we all thought it would be appropriate to scatter his ashes there. We learned that special cremation urns are now available to scatter the ashes. We picked one that after the scattering the urn converts into a memorial birdhouse. Perfect to place in his garden! He would have loved it.

Cremation is a becoming more popular in the death care industry. I always thought that when a body is cremated, they had to be put in a jar and placed in the home. After talking with the funeral director, I learned that I couldn’t be more wrong. There are dozens of options available for people after they have been cremated. These options have made it possible to get a more custom funeral. Family members can also have peace of mind knowing that they gave their loved one the funeral they deserved and wanted.

Scattering ashes has become much more popular over the past few years, and it is easy to see why. The funeral director I spoke with said it is now the top choice among family members. More than half of the people cremated in the United States have their ashes scattered. It cuts down funeral costs significantly and allows us to conserve our resources.
We put together a memorial service in his favorite spot in the backyard. It didn’t take much to move his bird feeder to the side. The funeral director was happy to help us make arrangements. I was actually really surprised when he suggested a Birdhouse Memorial Urn.

I was also shocked at the quality. When I picture an urn in my head, I always think of black and gray metal urns with some decoration. The urns that I was shown were nothing like that. Birdhouse urns are beautiful, allowing them to serve as a peaceful reminder of the person. We selected a beautiful wooden urn made from a mango tree.

Birdhouse Urn
Urn That Coverts To Birdhouse!

When the idea was first brought up to our family members, not everyone was receptive to the idea of scattering. Uncle Robbie knew that while Grandpa wanted to be eco-friendly, he was also a very traditional man. We discussed the idea as a family before deciding to have an open casket service in addition to the scattering ceremony. This helped keep our family traditions alive and allowed us to pay our final respects to Grandpa before his ashes were scattered.

Our Grandpa was placed in a Birdhouse Memorial Urn for a lot of reasons. Not only was it decorative, we thought we could place it close to the feeder in the yard, keeping all the birds in the neighborhood happy. We know that he wanted to share his knowledge and love for birds with everyone, so why not create a beautiful home for them?
The memorial urn that we got was specially designed to scatter his ashes safely and effectively. The ceremony we had was very lovely, and we are happy that we didn’t have to travel far. While it wasn’t a traditional funeral, the service helped us to remember Grandpa. I still remember all of his friends and family showing up. People stayed after the scattering and shared in a social reception. It was great to hear the stories of a younger grandpa. I had no idea he raced motorcycles!

Scattering Urn into BirdhouseScattering ceremonies may seem like they are difficult to plan, but they are quite easy. For us, we knew right away that Grandpa would feel most at home in the backyard watching over us, his spirit soaring with the birds. I know a friend who said they wanted to have a similar ceremony in a park. We talked to the funeral director first, who helped us make some arrangements. Honestly, we had no idea how to plan a funeral on our own.
One thing that I noticed is that people like to see living memorials and are proud to be a part of the ceremony. Even in life we supported Grandpa’s ecofriendly practices, and everyone was happy to be able to fulfill his final wishes in a way that would support his ideals. Even the birds in our yard seem happier.

Scattering Urns
Learn More (Click Here)

After the ceremony, we moved Grandpa’s bird feeder closer to his urn. We know that he would want to be able to see the birds, no matter where he was. It didn’t take long before a small pair of chickadees moved in. As the seasons changed, we saw a wide range of birds come and go, knowing that each one put a smile on Grandpa’s face.
I am glad that I don’t need to go very far to visit Grandpa. His birdhouse is a living memorial that I can see from my kitchen window. We are keeping his memory alive with a functional urn that allowed him to have a dignified funeral. It shows us that life goes on and that we can still thrive while remembering our dear Grandpa.

Join Cremation Solutions On Google Plus

Like Cremation Solutions HERE

Follow on Twitter:

Connect on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/jeffstaab

Cremation Solutions on TV to Help Joan Rivers with her Dog’s Funeral

Dog Funeral
Joan and Her Beloved Max

Sometimes life–and death–surprises you. I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear from the producers of the “Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best?” reality TV show when they called me. It turns out that comedian, Joan Rivers is aware of our pet funerals and the urns, cremation jewelry and keepsakes we offer for people who have lost a beloved pet. Joan’s 12-year-old rescue Pekingese, Max had died and she wanted to do a show about a funeral for the dog. Of course, I said we would help, although I had no idea what to expect.

Planning a dog’s funeral

We started the funeral for Max by finding a location that worked well for Joan as well as hiring a New York celebrant to write and officiate at the service, Chris Shelly rose to the occasion. My friend Nancy Burban help us search for a location in New York City. One of the things Joan was most concerned about, and one of the reasons she called us, was the many options we have for displaying Max’s ashes. One of the scenes in the show takes place in Joan’s New York City apartment, where I’ve brought several of our urns, cremation jewelry and pet keepsakes to show her. Of course, with Joan, even funerals can be funny and she makes jokes about the different options. It was perfect blend of fun and serious.

Farewell to Max

Love Urns
Max’s Round Simplicity Urn

Joan decided on an urn during the segment and also wanted to get some jewelry to hold a few of Max’s ashes. She choose one of our Pandora-style cremation beads that matches the colors of Max’s coat, a charcoal, almost black hue.

She also decided to use our new “Loved One Launcher” to blast Max’s ashes all over his favorite stomping grounds. This piece of equipment can blast your loved one’s ashes up to 70 feet. The ashes can be mixed with confetti to give the launch a festive, party-like atmosphere. It’s a perfect salute to a being, like Max, who loved life.

We ended the show with Max’s funeral.

Admittedly, the funeral was a little bizarre, but the grief was real. As the owner of a rescue dog myself, I can relate.

You never know what you’re going to encounter in this business. I had fun doing the show. I think Joan and I had a little chemistry and the spontaneous jokes were streaming. This really was reality TV; nothing was rehearsed.

About “Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best”

Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best” is a reality

Scattering Ashes
Joan Holds The Loved One Launcher Ash scattering  Cannon

series on WEtv, featuring comedian, Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa as they try to keep the peace while living under one roof. The 30-minute show debuted in 2011 when Rivers moved from Los Angeles to New York City and moved in with her grown daughter, Melissa. The show is just beginning its fourth season.

About Cremation Solutions

Although all of the attention and excitement of doing a TV show is nice (and kind of rare in our business), Cremation Solutions doesn’t just cater to celebrity dogs. We

Dod Funerals
Jeff Staab, Joan, Melissa and Padfoot

have a whole range of affordable pet funeral services as well as cremation urns, jewelry, keepsakes and art to help you remember all of your loved ones and keep them close to you even when they have passed. Check out the beautiful tapestry behind Joan and Melissa. It was a gift from Funeral Home Gifts.

Our episode on the “Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best” show airs on WEtv on April 12, 10 PM EST on the WE TV network. We hope you’ll tune in.
Join The Author Jeff Staab On Google Plus

Like Cremation Solutions on Face Book HERE

Connect on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/jeffstaab

Funeral Directors VS Zombies

It seems like zombies are all the rage right now. From hit television shows to blockbuster movies, everyone is fascinated with the undead. While most people enjoy their fix of the undead and then turn off the television or leave the theater, for a small group of people, when it comes to death there is no escape.

The funeral service industry isn’t a glamorous career, but it’s a necessary one and can be most rewarding helping people through a difficult part of life. So how do those that deal with death on a daily basis handle the popularity of zombies? For a funeral director, a zombie infestation is a nightmare for several reasons. It’s the absolute worst possible situation in your industry and watching Zombies in action can conflict with job performance. Just like an airline pilot wouldn’t want to watch a films about a plane crashes, a cruise ship captain wouldn’t want to watch Titanic and a foodie wouldn’t want to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, it’s just not good for your overall health!

Youg Zombie
My Daughter Jena is a Real Heart Breaker!

Let’s face it – zombies are bad enough on the general population. It’s a messy affair with the dead ambling around, blood gushing everywhere and just lots of general gore. But zombies are even worse on the funeral directors and embalmers. Why? Let’s take a look. All Zombies start out as dead people. Funeral Directors work hard to make the dead look peaceful and then BAM!. Freaking Zombies mess up all our hard work. Not knowing when they will change just keeps us on edge all the time. Some complain that Zombies are driving the cremation rate even higher!. Progressive funeral director in Pennsylvania, Caleb Wilde now ties the deceased shoes together, making them even slower when the change comes while providing a more entertaining Zombie experience.

Outside of a cemetery, a funeral home or mortuary has the highest concentration of deceased bodies. So should zombies start rising from the dead, you’re at an immediate disadvantage because you’re outnumbered.

Casket For Cremation
Where Did He Go!

How’s this for nightmare fuel for a mortician: imagine your working with the dead and then one starts that irritating moaning from inside a casket you just positioned perfectly! Then you hear it from the one next to it. Then, the one beside it. When the locks start breaking and bodies start crawling out, that job at Home Depot is looking good.

Or imagine a family is having a service for a loved one when the dearly departed sputters to life, shuffles out of their casket and starts terrorizing the family? I’d imagine that family member screaming and running out of your funeral home in terror isn’t exactly the image you’re looking to project. Can you say lawsuit!. It’s just not good for business.

Cremation Information
The Fat One's Are The Worst

But aside from just the “nightmare” scenarios, there are actually practical reasons a zombie apocalypse would be a death knell for the funeral industry. “But you’d still need funerals once the zombies are killed!” you say. That’s just not the same  – for several reasons!

First off, the whole “viewing” part of a funeral couldn’t happen. Often times, people at a funeral will say, “He looks so peaceful” or “She looks so natural”?  But the fact that you have to kill zombies with a head shot or decapitation pretty much renders that useless. It can look “just like her” with a pair of holes in her head!

Embalming does not kill Zombies and that’s a problem!. Since zombies keep moving around, normal embalming becomes a pain in the ass. Embalmers for the first time are having to implore restraining straps. One skilled embalmer told me she has been adding a step of cutting the trac and removing the voice box. This has completely stop purge from the mouth and nose as well as stopped all that annoying moaning!. This triggered me to consider teeth removal to inhibit all that messy biting!  Without preservation, a zombie’s body (which as mentioned in the last paragraph, probably isn’t in good shape) would deteriorate far too quickly to have any sort of service. Of course, that assumes you’d provide services to a zombie in the first place! No restoration and no preservation? Another strike for funeral homes.

And since you’ve got several layers of “death” in the zombie universe (the initial person’s death, the death of a zombie, etc.), how do you handle a situation where someone passes away, but the becomes a zombie? They don’t exactly need their casket, and your services were useless, so can the family ask for a refund?

Cremation is the Solution
Always Looking For Handouts!

As anyone who works in a funeral home knows, we don’t like it when bodies start to twitch or make a sounds. With the resurgence of zombies in popular culture recently, I’m sure it’s given more than one person a brief heart attack. Josh Slocum of the Funeral Consumers Alliance has been warning the public that funeral directors should avoid the whole zombie phenomenon because Zombies don’t need funerals and have no known negative effects on the public.

So if you someone in the industry does choose to partake in a little undead entertainment, how do they deal with it? For starters, know that since zombies are (hopefully) relegated to the small screen, your industry is going to be around for a long, long time. Also, be happy that people are fascinated with death. That’s good for business. And as I mentioned above, if you institute a “no refunds” policy, you’ll get to double dip. You’ll have a service for the initial passing, and then another one when they take a shotgun blast as they’re trying to gnaw on a cousin’s leg. I recommend Cremation services and a nice urn as a zombie solution!

But what’s the best thing someone in the funeral industry can take away from the zombie resurgence? I’m sure The Walking Dead can offer you some pretty good survival tips, should…. well, you know.

Join The Author Jeff Staab On Google Plus

Like him on Face Book HERE

Connect on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/jeffstaab

Subscribe to his blog www.cremationsolutions.com/blog/

Introducing Cremation Urn Hero Figures

At Cremation Solutions, we are always striving to bring our customers innovative and creative custom urns to hold the ashes of a loved one. Today, people are searching for unique and special urn keepsakes that they can cherish forever. One of our latest cremation urns is the action figure urn. These true-to-life action figures look just like your loved one and make a lasting memory. Unlike traditional cremation urns, these urns hold ashes in the head.

How it’s Done

These unique custom urns can be completed with just one or two photos of your loved one. We use a patent-pending 3-D modeling method used by typical 3-D designers. The face and body are reconstructed in 3-D, and this lifelike figure is available in 12 inches. Software is used to adjust color, and you can capture any age, including mid-life. The figure is comprised of hard resin and in 24-bit color. Following state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies, we are able to create urn keepsakes that will last a lifetime. These unique cremation urns can be custom ordered and delivered to your doorstep in just four weeks.

Changing the Paradigm

Much like personal urns with an upper sculpture of a loved one, these keepsake urns are revolutionizing the way we memorialize a departed one. While the media may poke some fun, when you think about it, action figure custom urns are the idyllic way to have a real-life image of your loved one right in front of you. It a real way to reconnect with your loved one and reminisce all the good times shared together. These custom urns are just like a favorite photo; only, the representation is dimensional. Like a pair of new shoes, it just takes time to feel comfortable with any new idea.

Creative Ideas for Cremation Urn Action Figures

Roberts Urn For Ashes
Robert Pattinson as Indiana Jones Keepsake Urn

Just like a statue, these endearing cremation action figures can be placed anywhere in the home. It’s really up to you. Den tables, fireplace mantles and bedroom tables are ideal. Placing your cremation action figure on a fireplace mantle surrounded by other other family portraits and pictures is one idea that will keep your departed one in perfect company. On an end table in the bedroom, you can keep your loved one close do your heart while sleeping. Maybe your loved one had a favorite room in the home like a sun room. Displaying a cremation action figure in their favorite room is sure to bring back fond memories. Even if you take a weekend trip or go on vacation, you can pack up your cremation action figure and take it right along with you. The ideas are limitless, and it’s up to you.

Mom's Urn
Mom Loved Her Harley

Let’s face it. The loss of any loved one is a personal experience of deep loss and sadness. There is nothing that can prepare you for it. Healing takes a long time along with the support of other family members and friends. Urn keepsakes that hold ashes of a loved one and depict a real-life image and sculpture give you something to hold on to in the real world. Cremation urns really serve two purposes. They are a dignified place for your loved one, and a place where you can keep your loved one close for personal comfort. At the same time, custom urns fashioned into the image of your loved one are like having a loved one right at your side.

At Cremation Solutions, we’ve been in the funeral business for many years and treat our clients with the highest of respect and compassion. We offer a wide variety of cremation urns for both people and pets, including cremation jewelry and traditional urns in many styles. Action figure urn keepsakes are the new kid on the block. Be sure to visit our website at www.cremationsolutions.com for unique and well-made cremation urns. You’ll find that all of our products are high quality, and we offer excellent customer service. Purchase Urn Figures HERE
Join The Author Jeff Staab On Google Plus

Like him on Face Book HERE

Connect on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/jeffstaab

The Hottest Dr. Oz Weight-Loss Technique to Date: The Crème Diet (Parody)

End Those Cravings For Good!

Inspiration for the Crème Diet
Many of the weight-loss plans Dr. Oz has created have required intense concentration, will power and organization. With rules governing what people could and could not eat as well as when they were allowed to have meals, most dieters ended up incredibly confused and frustrated. They eventually found themselves weeping into a bag of potato chips and wondering where everything went wrong in their lives.

Dr. Oz heard about these massive failures and decided to concoct the ultimate fat-burning method. The challenge he gave himself was to get his viewers to lose 100% of their body fat without ever having to watch what they eat or submit to painfully rigorous athletic activities like petting a dog or peeling an orange.

Likewise, since he had only released two impeccable diet plans that morning and it was nearing noon, he was just about due to release another best diet in the history of all diets.

Getting the Word Out

Cremation Service is Catching On
So Easy, Hot and Sexy

After spending a full fifteen minutes in his laboratory, which consists of a solid gold elliptical machine and a Mr. Potato Head doll, he emerged shouting, “I’ve figured it out! I now know the way we can burn fat faster than ever before!” Dr. Oz grabbed the closest intern and dragged the lucky individual by the hair to the closest cremation service facility while the rest of Dr. Oz’s staff waiting in anticipation for their return.

When Dr. Oz and the intern came back to the facility, the staff of 43 unpaid interns was speechless. However, this time it was not because of Dr. Oz’s 462nd weight loss technique of removing the tongue; the interns were not even signing amongst each other. In his hands, Dr. Oz held the intern who had previously been close to 150 pounds but was now situated comfortably in a beautifully hand crafted cremation urn. A handful of interns began to weep quietly and Dr. Oz saw one sign the word “escape” to another intern with a sadly inquisitive yet promising expression glazed across her eyes.

The New You. Completely Fat Free!

Dr. Oz took his own interpretation of the meaning of this witnessed exchange and proclaimed, “Yes, intern, that is correct! You can finally escape the cumbersome diets of watching what you eat! The Cremation Diet was born! Interns signed that the word cremation was harsh and thought about a softer alternative. Quick, someone get the camera we need to share this news with the world immediately!”

Before the camera was even brought to his location, Dr. Oz was well into a discussion with himself about the incredible new fat-burning technique while tongueless interns swirled around him applying a heavy coat of makeup. With the cameras rolling and an estimated 125 million people watching live from the comfort of their ice cream stained couches, Dr. Oz described the numerous advantages of what he had by then deemed the crème diet.

Diet is Really Catching On Fire!

How the Crème Diet Can Help You
The disadvantages of the crème diet —if any exist at all— are far overshadowed by the incredible amount of weight you are guaranteed to lose. You will be able to fit into the most beautiful designer cremation urns, which will leave friends and family speechless with jealousy. All those too-tight clothes from years past can join in your new weight-burning adventure, and even jewelry that you haven’t been able to wear since your high school days will fit better than ever before. After losing around 95% of your body weight, even a dehydrated Calista Flockhart will be jealous of how little you weigh.

The New Cremation Urn You
Your New Sleek Look

As if that wasn’t enough, research has also shown that those who have gone through the crème diet also face far less stress in their day-to-day lives and have also been found to scatter themselves and travel the world with their families more often than those who haven’t undertaken the life-changing cremation technique. Just imagine yourself in a new, gorgeously ornate cremation urn and leaving your presence on sandy beaches and all your favorite cities across the globe. Finally with the use of cremation jewelry your family and friends can have you with them wherever they go.

All this and more can be yours with Dr. Oz’s new, proven weight loss method. Now all you have to do is pick which designer cremation urn you want to be shown off in then sit back and enjoy your new 4 -6 pound lifestyle.
Join The Author Jeff Staab On Google Plus

Thai Man Marries Dead Girlfriend

On January 4, 2012, an extraordinary Buddhist wedding ceremony transpired in Surin, Thailand. On that day 28-year-old Chadil Deffy, a television director also known as Deff Yingyuen, took his girlfriend of ten years, 29-year-old Sarinya Kamsook, also known as Anne, as his wife.

Cremation Services
Death Till We Part?

The bridegroom, clad in a black tuxedo complete with top hat and tails, was debonair and charming. The bride was a vision in a white satin strapless bridal gown featuring a miniskirt and ornamented with lace and pearls. Fishnet stockings embellished her legs, and in her hands, she held a red and white bridal bouquet.

The bride remained silent and did not object to the marriage. As the groom proclaimed his undying love for his bride, he slipped a diamond ring on her finger as a symbolic representation of his eternal love. This touching and endearing demonstration of everlasting love broadcasted on nationwide television in Thailand.

The unconventional issue concerning this romantic and charming marriage ceremony was not the bride’s unusual attire. Instead, it was the undeniable fact that the wedding ceremony had taken place posthumously and that the new bride was actually deceased at the time that the consolidated marriage/funeral service occurred.  The groom purportedly betrothed her out of tremendous despair and remorse.

In a typical love scenario, the happy couple became acquainted with each other and fell in love a decade earlier at Eastern Asia University in Thailand. The couple had previously planned to get married, but had postponed the wedding repeatedly because of their hectic schedules. Yingyuen had been pre-occupied with completing his degree and Kamsook was focusing on her career.

Regrettably, destiny intervened. On January 3, 2012, the couple found themselves in an automobile accident that resulted in catastrophic injuries to Anne. She was then rushed to an overcrowded emergency room of a nearby hospital. Rather than sending her to an alternative hospital that would be able to treat her injuries immediately, the workers reportedly waited six hours to attend to her, during which time she succumbed to her injuries and perished.

Jewelry To AshesThe matter at hand is whether the groom was a truly a grieving sweetheart, or rather an opportunist searching for a claim to fame. The bridegroom who had the ceremony videotaped also uploaded it to the social networking website Facebook, where he entitled the video, Corpse Bride. Subsequently, he published the video to YouTube where it ultimately proceeded to go viral.

Despite the fact that it’s apparent that he regretted that he had not married the woman he dearly loved while she was still living, his ulterior motives for videotaping the ceremony remain ambiguous. Tremendous grief can make people do abnormal things, but to use a publicity stunt to benefit from the demise of a loved one is excessive.

Regardless of the indisputable fact that he kept his commitment to his bride, he would potentially have been better thought of if this had been a private display rather than a televised event. Irrespective of his motives, from this fiasco you will discover lessons that we all can gain knowledge from. Our lives are way too short, and we should never delay until tomorrow what we could do today. Tomorrow could be too late, as this young man has learned all too well.

Kamsook’s burial occurred immediately following the ceremony and students carefully placed death wreaths throughout the grounds of the university that the couple attended in honor of the deceased bride. On the upside, a couple of things relating to this union are certain. The bride and groom will never argue, and if things don’t work out, the groom won’t be required to hand over half of his possessions.

This particular wedding is a perfect illustration of why funeral planning is so crucial. The bride undoubtedly would not have desired to have her deceased body exhibited for the entire world. However, if your loved ones don’t know what you want, despair and grieving can lead to unconventional funeral arrangements.

Many people these days are opting for cremation over burial. Cremation services offer family members additional time to organize the funeral service or memorial service. With additional time to prepare you can notify more family members, which frequently generates a significantly better turnout for the funeral.

Cremation urns for ashes are an excellent way to keep your loved one with you as you safeguard their earthly remains. In exactly the same way, cremation jewelry for ashes, which is either filled with the ashes or made from the ashes of your loved one, is an excellent solution for keeping your loved one in close proximity to your heart.
Join Jeff Staab On Google Plus

Cremation is The Only Cure for Doctor Oz Diet Gone Wrong

SACRAMENTO, CA — According to eyewitness accounts from Sutter Memorial’s emergency room patients, Joshua Hayes, 30, stumbled through the hospital’s entryway and his distended abdomen violently burst open. Scene investigators discovered the food to entrails ratio to be remarkably high, which prompted in-depth but expedited analysis. The lab results showed the contents that exploded from Hayes’ stomach precisely matched the recommended diets discussed by Doctor Oz’s television program, website and daily emails. More specifically, the contents contained all the recommended diets.

Dr Oz Diet Exposed
Now Known As Dr. Oz Syndrome!

Flesh, blood and Doctor Oz’s miracle foods and vitamin supplements covered nearly everyone who was in the waiting room during the time of the incredible human explosion, provoking melodramatic reactions from a majority of the emergency room patients. Head Nurse Michelle Sanders said, “I’ve never seen anything like this in all my 30-something years of nursing. The smell of acai berries, green detox ozz, humus and raspberries key tones is almost as intense as actually seeing that hunk of small intestine clinging to a wall. This emergency room looks like a combination of the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ combined with a farmers’ market.”

Hayes’ widowed and freshly single nubile wife Natalie, 28, was in the process of parking the couple’s car when the abdominal explosion occurred. However, even though she did not see her husband’s spontaneous combustion, she claimed to be sad about the situation.

When asked why her husband would have so thoroughly gorged himself on so much of Doctor Oz’s recommended diet foods in such a short period, she said, “Josh was always at the pinnacle of health. He worked out constantly and always ate well by avoiding fast food, snacks, sodas… all that stuff. I had been taking the Dr. Oz coffee bean extract and aside from the constant diarrhea and vomiting the magic elixir made my hot little body even hotter! Josh was impressed and he then discovered Doctor Oz’s various suggestions for dieting, he lost control of his ability to separate beneficial claims from reality.”

Ms. Hayes added, “He said he wanted to get every health benefit from Doctor Oz’s diets, and over the course of the first few days on the diet he ate, quite literally, everything Oz had ever discussed diet wise.”

Upon being asked whether or not she feels ready to get back into the dating game, she said that the question was extremely inappropriate and offensive; however, her body language said differently, which was evident to this reporter in between her loud sobbing and skyward questioning, asking her deity, “Why did you have to take Joshua like this?” Neither Doctor Oz nor Ms. Hayes’ chosen deity could be reached for comment.

Cremation Casket
Funeral Director Agreed That it Was A Nice Box and eventually gave it to her for free

Mrs. Hayes claimed to have an close relationship with the local funeral director and needed to now go see him about arranging for a cremation service. She said she figured that since only half of her late husband’s remains were recoverable she would be able to persuade her funeral director friend that it should be a low cost cremation service.
(Pictured Right) Mrs Hayes checks the fine detail on a cremation casket. Due to tragic circumstances the stand up funeral director donated this beautiful box.

Urn For Pet Ashes
Perfect for Josh!

She even said she should be able to use a smaller cremation urn to hold his ashes because there would be less of him. She thought perhaps cremation urns for pet ashes would be big enough, adding that a cremation urn for dogs might be appropriate for Josh and that she would scatter the ashes where they first met at his favorite strip club.

When leaving the funeral home Ms. Hayes maintained her fake position on dating while walking to her vehicle. Additionally, she would not answer the door that evening for this reporter, who was looking for more elaboration on how she wanted to go about dating. She was definitely home, two lights were visible in the dark of the evening: one visible in the front of the house and the other visible from some manzanita bushes in her backyard.

Every door in Ms. Hayes’ Sacramento home was locked, and all the bottom floor windows were closed as well. Although there was an open window on the second floor, there were not immediately available climbable items to facilitate entering the home and obtaining further interview answers.
Click Here To Join The Author Jeff Staab On Google Plus