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.

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...

What Size Urn Do I Need? A Simple Urn Size Calculator Guide (Cubic Inches Rule + Examples)

What Size Urn Do I Need? A Simple Urn Size Calculator Guide (Cubic Inches Rule + Examples)

There’s a moment after cremation—sometimes right after the call from the provider, sometimes days later—when a surprisingly practical question lands with emotional weight: what size urn do I need? It...

How to Fill a Cremation Urn (and What an “Urn Filler” Is): Tools, Tips, and Clean Transfers

How to Fill a Cremation Urn (and What an “Urn Filler” Is): Tools, Tips, and Clean Transfers

When the cremation process is complete, many families are surprised by what happens next: the ashes usually come home in a temporary container, and at some point you have to...

Hourglass Urns for Ashes: How They Work, Capacity, and What to Know Before You Buy

Hourglass Urns for Ashes: How They Work, Capacity, and What to Know Before You Buy

There’s something quietly comforting about an hourglass. Even people who don’t consider themselves “sentimental” understand the feeling: time passing, love staying, a life held gently between before and after. That’s...

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

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

Traveling with someone’s ashes can feel oddly heavy in a way that isn’t just physical. You’re carrying love, responsibility, and a plan you don’t want to mess up—while moving through...

Which Urns Last the Longest? Durability by Material, Sealing Tips, and How to Choose the Right Urn

Which Urns Last the Longest? Durability by Material, Sealing Tips, and How to Choose the Right Urn

When families ask “which urns last the longest,” they’re rarely asking a purely technical question. What they usually mean is: if we choose this now—during a week that already feels...

Cremation Urn Materials Guide: Metal, Wood, Ceramic, Stone, and Biodegradable Options (Plus What Can Be Buried)

Cremation Urn Materials Guide: Metal, Wood, Ceramic, Stone, and Biodegradable Options (Plus What Can Be Buried)

Choosing an urn can feel strangely difficult. Not because you can’t find something beautiful, but because the object you choose is tied to a decision you didn’t want to have...

How Big Is a Cremation Urn? Sizes, Cubic Inches, and What Fits in a Columbarium Niche

How Big Is a Cremation Urn? Sizes, Cubic Inches, and What Fits in a Columbarium Niche

If you’re shopping for cremation urns for the first time, it can feel strangely technical at a moment that’s already tender. A listing might say “200 cubic inches,” while your real...

Pet Cremation for Large Dogs: What’s Different (Timing, Cost, Transport & Urn Size)

Pet Cremation for Large Dogs: What’s Different (Timing, Cost, Transport & Urn Size)

The house feels different when a large-breed dog dies. Not only because their presence filled so much space, but because the practical realities arrive fast: a heavy body you can’t...

Do You Put Ashes Directly in an Urn?

Do You Put Ashes Directly in an Urn?

Deciding how to place the cremated remains of a loved one into a cremation urn can feel overwhelming. The process carries emotional weight, and it’s natural to have questions about...

Can A Keepsake Urn Be Opened?

Can A Keepsake Urn Be Opened?

Grief often comes with a desire to keep a loved one close, to hold onto memories in a way that feels tangible and comforting. Keepsake urns provide a meaningful way...

How Much Ashes Come from a Human Body? Average Weights and What That Means for Urn Size

How Much Ashes Come from a Human Body? Average Weights and What That Means for Urn Size

One of the most practical questions families ask after a cremation is also one of the most tender: “How much is there?” You might be asking because you’re trying to...

Planning a Shared Memorial with Multiple Pets: Group Graves, Urns, and Markers

Planning a Shared Memorial with Multiple Pets: Group Graves, Urns, and Markers

If you’ve loved more than one pet, you already know this quiet truth: grief doesn’t replace itself. It layers. A dog who grew up with your kids. A cat who...

From Temporary Container to Permanent Urn: Transferring Ashes Without Stress

From Temporary Container to Permanent Urn: Transferring Ashes Without Stress

There’s a moment many families don’t expect: the phone call is over, the paperwork is done, and the cremated remains are home—often in a temporary cremation container that feels practical...

Cat Urn Size Guide: Adult Cats, Kittens & Multiple Cats (Sizing & Keepsake Options)

Cat Urn Size Guide: Adult Cats, Kittens & Multiple Cats (Sizing & Keepsake Options)

The quiet moments after a beloved cat passes can feel heavy, even when their routines were small and familiar, curling into a favorite corner, perching by the window, or quietly...

Choosing Cremation Urns, Pet Urns, And Cremation Jewelry Without Pressure

Choosing Cremation Urns, Pet Urns, And Cremation Jewelry Without Pressure

Most families don’t arrive at cremation urns because they were shopping for a product. They arrive there because they’re trying to make one steady decision in the middle of a...