Long gone are the days where all you can do with a loved one’s ashes is scatter them in a favorite place of theirs or place them in an urn.

Don’t get us wrong, plenty of people still do that because that’s what their loved ones wanted. But the options are so numerous these days that you can really do just about anything you want with the ashes of a loved one.

Here are some ideas to give you a little inspiration:

Under the Sea

If your loved one is a big fan of the ocean, or if they wanted to continue making a positive impact on the environment long after they were gone, an eternal reef might be for them. Eternal reefs combine an urn, ash scattering, and burial at sea into one by combining your loved one’s ashes with environmentally-safe cast concrete to create an artificial reef.

Shine Bright like a Diamond

If your loved one had a taste for the finer things, you can have their ashes turned into a diamond. The diamond, the color of which changes depending on the person, can then be put into a number of different pieces of jewelry.

Tree Planting

If your loved one was a fan of nature or lived in a way so as to lessen their impact on the environment, you can put their ashes in an urn designed to grow its own tree.

Memory Glass

Similar to the diamonds, your loved one’s ashes also can be incorporated into beautiful glass sculptures, pendants, and more. And if your loved one chooses not to be cremated, you also can create these glass keepsakes with soil or sand from their favorite place instead.

Baby, You’re a Firework

Your loved one’s ashes can be incorporated into fireworks shells and set off, scattering their ashes in a beautiful explosion. The company even offers a luxury yacht for your friends and families to ride in and see the display.

Put Your Records On

Or, more precisely, be put on a record. If your loved one was a big fan of music, perhaps incorporating their ashes into a vinyl record is the best way to go so they can “live on from beyond the groove.”

Going Out with a Bang

If your loved one was an avid hunter or just plain loved their guns, you can have their ashes incorporated into ammunition. It’s up to you whether you want to shoot or save the ammunition — the ashes have no effect on the rifling, propellant, or firearm.

On Time

If traditional urns weren’t your loved one’s thing, but you still want a practical way to keep their ashes, perhaps the best compromise is to have their ashes put into an elegant hourglass. You also can combine ashes, such as those of both of your parents, into one hourglass.

Me and My Teddy

Some memorials seem a bit cold and unfeeling. Instead, consider placing a sealed bag of your loved one’s ashes inside a teddy bear.

Forever In Ink

Some tattoo artists actually will sterilize your loved one’s ashes and incorporate them into the ink they use to tattoo you. Not every tattoo parlor does this, and you’ll need to make sure they are trustworthy enough to properly handle the ashes. It’s best to do your research first.

A Real Life Portrait

There are a handful of artists who will mix your loved one’s ashes with paint, and then paint a portrait of them. The portraits themselves are beautiful, but incorporating the ashes makes it that much more special.

Space: The Final Frontier

If your loved one always wanted to be an astronaut but never got the chance, you can fulfill that wish for them by sending their ashes into space. You can have them fly out and come back, or send them off permanently into Earth’s orbit, to the moon, or into deep space.

While there are plenty of options for giving your loved one the memorial they deserve, they aren’t all so extreme. There are plenty of other options for memorializing someone you love, and there are always the traditional ways of honoring a cremated loved one, like scattering ashes in a favorite place or putting them in a beautifully-made urn.

Would you consider any of these options? Share your thoughts in the comments below!