For less than $200 one of our customers was able to create an Irish themed keepsake collection for their loved one.

Celtic Starburst keepsake cremation urn

Our metal Celtic keepsake urns are sculpted and cast using the ancient lost wax method, then hand painted and trimmed in Celtic knots and brilliant Austrian crystals, which some believe have a power of their own.

Irish Spirit Celtic Cross Keepsake Urn

In addition to the keepsake urns, they selected one of our new styles of cremation keepsake rings.

Celtic Knot Cremation Ash Ring

The Celtic Knot memorial ring jewelry has a secure threaded enclosure to store ashes, lock of hair, or sand from a favorite  beach.

We recently had a family that purchased several pieces of urn jewelry as a memorial to honor the memory of their loved one. Nature themes were prominent, like the clover urn pendant

Gold Four Leaf Clover Urn Necklace

and  silver star urn necklace.

Star Pendant Urn Necklace

Carrie Marie Maurer

Age 29, of Conowingo, MD, died suddenly February 17, 2010 as a result of injuries sustained in an auto accident.

Born in Havre de Grace, MD on June 18, 1980, Carrie was the daughter of Kenneth and Janet Marie Maurer. She was a 1998 graduate of Rising Sun High School where she was a cheerleader for four years. Carrie was employed at AAA in Newark, DE where she was a roadside service assistant. Carrie loved children and was “Aunt Carrie” to many children. An avid Philadephia Eagles fan, Carrie’s greatest joy, however, was spending time with friends and family and will always be remembered for her generosity and loyalty. She will be dearly missed.

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Carrie. RIP

Millions of young girls – and at least some boys – baked their first cookies, cupcakes and brownies because of Ronald Howes Sr.

Howes was a lifelong inventor whose creations ranged from high-tech defense weaponry devices to electrostatic printers, Mr. Howes built an impressive resume that will always be best known for the enormously popular toy that he fathered nearly a half century ago: the Easy-Bake Oven.

At Kenner, one of Mr. Howes’ first jobs was to reformulate Play-Doh to remove some potentially dangerous chemicals in the colorful modeling compound. Mr. Howes also had a hand in creating a modern version of the Victorian era Spirograph.

Sign the family’s guest book.

While trolling around the webs, I stumbled onto the FCA (F*ck Cancer Army) and the bold  “F*ck Cancer” fashion statement.

Cesar’s right-hand-“man,” Daddy

Cesar Millan announced that his longtime friend and partner, Daddy the pit bull passed away Friday after at the ripe age of 16.

Daddy stood as champion for calm-submissive pit bulls everywhere, and was instrumental in helping to repair their image as violent, savage, uncontrollable beasts.

RIP Daddy.

This sculpture by one of the Urn Garden artists keeps coming around, and there’s always a wild story to go with it.  The latest is a client who was involved with a Las Vegas animal rescue operation back in the ’80′s. She handled exotics.

Big cats and monkeys.

Funny thing, this story had a familiar ring to it.

Turns out, she had the ashes of a lioness that had been in the closet all these years. She stumbled on to our Brave Heart lion keepsake urn while shopping for a different style cremation urn for another sad occasion.

One look and she knew she had to deal with the lion in the closet. She’s only has half the ashes.  This urn is designed for keepsake size portions and won’t accommodate all of her ashes.  But she has a plan.

Miss Heather,  of NYC gave us a garden tour of some of the memorials spotted lately in her Greenpoint neighborhood.

But first, a brief history moment.

Early Colonization of Greenpoint:

Greenpoint was originally inhabited by Keskachauge Indians, a sub-tribe of the Lenape. Contemporary accounts describe it as remarkably verdant and beautiful, with Jack pine and oak forest, meadows, fresh water creeks and briny marshes. Water fowl and fish were abundant.

Flash forward to our first projects: Airbrush memorials for Luis* and Malo:

Smaller and more subtle examples include this memorial to Alexander McQueen on the B62 bus stop.

*update: Tribute to Luis located in Bushwick. Not Greenpoint.

Campbell St. Roadside Memorial

The tree in midtown has become a roadside memorial.

Yesterday, on my way back to world headquarters, I noticed this tree that appeared to have a fresh bite out of it, debris scattered on the ground, and then the cross at the base of the tree.  This morning I was loading my camera, thought I’d get a picture of it and update on garden happenings.  Before I left, I scanned the local paper and mystery solved.

RIP

photo source: Springfield News-Leader