The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

10 Meaningful Things to Do With Ashes After Cremation (Ideas, Costs, and How to Choose)

10 Meaningful Things to Do With Ashes After Cremation (Ideas, Costs, and How to Choose)

If you’re holding a box or urn and wondering what to do with ashes, you’re not alone. For many families, the hardest part isn’t choosing cremation. It’s what comes after:...

Adult Cremation Urns: How to Choose the Right Full-Size Urn (Capacity, Materials, and Shopping Tips)

Adult Cremation Urns: How to Choose the Right Full-Size Urn (Capacity, Materials, and Shopping Tips)

When you start shopping for an adult urn, it can feel like you’ve walked into a store where everyone already knows the language—except you. Listings mention “full size,” “adult,” “200...

Keeping Cremation Ashes at Home in the US: Is It Legal, How to Store Them Safely, and Display Ideas

Keeping Cremation Ashes at Home in the US: Is It Legal, How to Store Them Safely, and Display Ideas

Bringing cremated remains home can feel strangely ordinary and profoundly heavy at the same time. You may set a temporary container on the kitchen table, sign a last form, and...

Keepsakes Made From Ashes: 9 Meaningful Memorial Ideas (Jewelry, Glass, Stones & More)

Keepsakes Made From Ashes: 9 Meaningful Memorial Ideas (Jewelry, Glass, Stones & More)

There’s a moment that comes after the paperwork is signed and the immediate rush quiets down—when the cremation is complete, the phone call is made, and a family brings home...

How to Transfer or Divide Cremation Ashes and Fill an Urn Safely

How to Transfer or Divide Cremation Ashes and Fill an Urn Safely

For many families, the moment the ashes come home is quieter than expected. There may be no ceremony, no gathering—just a temporary container on a table and the sudden realization...

Is There “Energy” in Cremation Ashes? Beliefs, Etiquette, and Keeping Ashes at Home

Is There “Energy” in Cremation Ashes? Beliefs, Etiquette, and Keeping Ashes at Home

The first time cremated remains come home, many families feel two different realities at once. There’s the practical reality: a temporary container, a sealed bag, paperwork, and the sudden question...

Cremation Urns 101: Types, Materials, and How to Choose the Right Urn

Cremation Urns 101: Types, Materials, and How to Choose the Right Urn

Choosing an urn can feel like an oddly technical task at a time when your heart is still trying to catch up. Families often describe the same moment: the cremation...

Wooden Cremation Urns Pros and Cons: Durability, Care Tips, and Best Wood Types

Wooden Cremation Urns Pros and Cons: Durability, Care Tips, and Best Wood Types

There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles in after cremation. Sometimes it’s immediate—right after you pick up the remains, when the box feels heavier than you expected. Sometimes it...

Flying With Cremated Remains: TSA Rules, Airline Tips, and Best Travel Urns

Flying With Cremated Remains: TSA Rules, Airline Tips, and Best Travel Urns

There are trips you pack for with excitement, and there are trips you pack for with a quiet kind of courage. Traveling with a loved one’s ashes often falls into...

How to Put Ashes in an Urn (Without a Mess): Step-by-Step Transfer, Sealing, and Scattering Tips

How to Put Ashes in an Urn (Without a Mess): Step-by-Step Transfer, Sealing, and Scattering Tips

There’s a particular kind of pressure that shows up the day you bring cremated remains home. You may have been handed a container that feels heavier than it looks, and...

Is It OK to Keep Cremation Ashes at Home? U.S. Rules, Beliefs, and Best Practices

Is It OK to Keep Cremation Ashes at Home? U.S. Rules, Beliefs, and Best Practices

When the funeral home calls to say the cremated remains are ready, it can feel like the first “real” decision arrives before your heart has caught up. Someone drives home...

Mailing Pet Ashes (USPS 2026): Packaging Rules, Label 139, Costs & What to Expect

Mailing Pet Ashes (USPS 2026): Packaging Rules, Label 139, Costs & What to Expect

If you are reading this, you are probably holding something that feels heavier than it looks: a small container of cremated remains, and a decision you did not ask to...

Ashes Memorial Jewelry: How It’s Made, How Much Ashes You Need, and How to Fill Jewelry at Home

Ashes Memorial Jewelry: How It’s Made, How Much Ashes You Need, and How to Fill Jewelry at Home

There’s a moment after cremation when the practical questions arrive in a wave. The phone call that the remains are ready. The careful handoff of a temporary container. The quiet...

How to Transfer Ashes into an Urn: Step-by-Step Tips, Tools & Safety

How to Transfer Ashes into an Urn: Step-by-Step Tips, Tools & Safety

The moment you decide to move a loved one’s cremated remains into a new urn can feel surprisingly tender. Sometimes it’s because the crematory returned the ashes in a temporary...

Keepsake Urns Explained: Mini Urns for Sharing Ashes (Sizes, Filling, and Costs)

Keepsake Urns Explained: Mini Urns for Sharing Ashes (Sizes, Filling, and Costs)

In the first days after a cremation, many families feel surprised by how “practical” grief can become. You’re carrying love and memory, but you’re also making decisions: where the ashes...

Cremation Jewelry Guide: Best Necklace Styles, Materials, Filling Tips, and Shopping Checklist

Cremation Jewelry Guide: Best Necklace Styles, Materials, Filling Tips, and Shopping Checklist

In the days after a cremation, families often discover that the hardest part isn’t paperwork or logistics—it’s deciding what “close” should look like. An urn on a shelf can feel...