Cremation beads

[Ilona]

My best friend passed away just under a year ago, and I have been given some of her ashes to make some cremation beads. The ashes are not just ash, there are also what look like wood. What I want to know is, do I need to sieve the ashes, or do I just use it as it is and hopefully any wood grains should burn off? I have not wanted to use them, in case I make a mess.  Thanks in advance for any help.

[Jellybean]

I don't make them - I'm sure some one else can help - but I think you'd need to sieve the big bits out.
It's highly unlikely to be wood. Big hugs to you, you're doing a wonderful thing xx

[tish]

yes defo sieve the ashes then pound in a mortar and pestle then sieve again just to be sure i have a nylon and plastic tea strainer i use for ashes

[Irene]

Sorry I don't have an answer for you. But I am intrigued, Never heard of this before so if you could tell what cremation beads are? Understand it involves the Ashes from a deceased person, but how do you use the Ashes in the bead and what is the bead for?
Sorry for the loss of Your good friend.

[Ilona]

Thanks for the replies. I better get myself a sieve!

Irene, cremation beads are made by encasing cremated remains in your beads. I thought it was lovely to be given some of my friends ashes to be preserved in glass. My friend loved my beads and I know she would have thought it was a good idea. Many people have pets ashes made into beads as a keep sake and to remember there beloved pet. I have another friend that also wants me to make some cremation beads for her too. My friends sister gave me some of her ashes, and I think I will make her a special pendant, she doesn't know i am going to do this yet. My friends have bought heart mobiles that you hang up, and want me to add a heart cremation bead to the centre as a way to remember and keep alive a memory of a special person. I will probably make a heart pendant in her favourite colour - Green. We are all going out for a meal on the first anniversary of her passing, and i will give them there beads then. Whatever I make it is a way of keeping her close to me, and will be a way of remembering a special lady taken from us too soon.

[Pat from Canvey]

You might get some ideas from this Company local to me, http://www.ashesintoglass.co.uk/

[Trudi]

When you make them Iona, you will find that some gasses will escape leaving small bubbles .. this is normal!

x

[babyshoes]

Blimey, I think I'd be a bit nervous - can you get some normal ash to practice with beforehand?
I know it won't be quite the same in terms of texture etc, but should help to give you a better idea what to expect when you use the real ashes, such as how much to use, bubbles etc...

I also recall reading a thread before with lots of useful advice for these beads, maybe try searching for 'cremains' or similar in past threads.

[petrahergarden]

i practised with some burned to ashes chickenbones. I burned the bones in a little enamel-kiln

[ruth]

I think Red Hot Sal specialises in memorial beads. It's so important it might be worth commissioning her, after all it is a one-off item.

Ruth

[Redhotsal]

Sorry - only just seen this. I'm really sorry to hear about the loss of your friend Ilona, please accept my condolences.

Yes, the ashes often come in a lot of different forms - I've had some which are light and like wood flakes, and yet some other ash is dense, almost like cement dust. Some is really inert and some does give off gas during the process (which I think is carbon dioxide.)

I usually sieve out the big bits - just for aesthetic reasons. There's usually a lot of dust-like ash, which is better suited for encasing. Don't forget that with a bead there will be a dome of clear glass over the ash which does magnify what you have. I've also found that actually you don't need as much ash in the bead as you may think - "less is more" - the clear space is often as important as the ashes, if you see what I mean, so in fact you will use a really small amount for each bead.

The ash itself won't burn, even if exposed to the open flame, and though it does look like wood it probably isn't. Do try and get it all encased though as it does look like bead release if it's left sticking on the surface! But also be aware that if you have too much ash on the surface it can be hard to encase (the encasing glass has nothing to stick to).

I've got quite a few pictures of them on my alternative website - www.evermoreglass.co.uk for those who are curious. I make a lot of them these days! Yes, I was nervous, when I made my first ones, but the lady I made them for, Lindsey, was great and was happy to let me experiment. I've learned quite a lot over the years and I don't really get nervous doing them now, but I did feel under pressure a few years ago when an entire family came in to watch me make six beads in a row, without stopping!  The upside is that it is a really rewarding thing to do and the families I've made beads for have found them comforting and healing.

[Ilona]

Thank you for your replies. I have bought the sieve, and will start making the beads this weekend. Thanks again I feel a little better on having a go at these beads now.

[Pat from Canvey]

I just wonder what people do with the main bulk of the ashes once cremation beads are made. Do they scatter them in a place significant to the person?

[Redhotsal]

That's usually the intention of many folk Pat, to scatter the ashes somewhere that has a sentimental attachment. You can get them interred at the crematorium (thery're usually scattered in the Garden of Remembrance) or you can scatter them somewhere else (if allowed!). You can't actually do this as easily as you might think - they don't like you to scatter ashes at Football clubs because the phosphate in the ashes can damage the grass for example!

You can't actually send ashes through the post either. If they are discovered they are confiscated and sent to somewhere in Ireland!
People have thought of quite a few ways to use the ashes - the lady who was my first client for cremation glass has also got a pawprint tattoo which has the ashes of one of her dogs in it, as well as her memorial beads.

However, I'm somewhat sorry to admit that an awful lot of folk end up sitting in a kitchen cupboard after they have departed. We all have good intentions but sometimes life gets in the way. My uncle sat in a plant pot under a clematis for several years (still in the plastic "urn") as my aunt was too poorly to scatter him. It's always a bit of a shock when people get the ashes back of their loved one - you simply don't expect an urn that's over a foot high and weighing in at several hefty kilos - for some reason we have got the idea that you only get a "handful" of ashes.

By the way my aunt (the one above) always told us that she wanted to be positioned on top of the telly so that she could keep an eye in us....this was in the days before flat screened TVs though. It'd be a bit difficult nowadays, so we combined her ashes with my uncles and finally scattered them in their favourite spot where their much loved dogs were buried.

I actually have the opposite situation now - a lady scattered the ashes of her son and then discovered that she could have the glass made. I've been sent an empty scatter tube and need to carefully and sensitively take it apart to see if there are any remnants left for a memorial bead!

[Jellybean]

That's interesting about the football pitch Sally. I didn't know that... might be to deter too many people doing it!  You imagine the number of people wanting to be scattered at their favourite team's pitch! I took the funeral service for a young man of 19 who was run over a few years ago. We scattered his ashes on the centre circle where he used to play, surrounded by his family, friends, and fellow team members. Was one of the most moving things, and such a privilege to be part of.