Stone Address Markers

Whenever I do a public show I get the greatest feedback from our stone address markers. Stone address markers are an elegant and affordable way to display your home's address. There are many options to creating a personal address marker for your home! Families can choose to have their numbers displayed vertically or horizontally, with graphics or without, large or small. 

Installation of our stone address markers is easy! Typically the ground is excavated below grade where a concrete form is placed. You then fill the form with concrete that is mixed as dry as possible. Place the stone address marker in the concrete and brace with some wood 2x4's. Once the concrete has set up you can remove the braces and the concrete form and backfill the address marker with soil/barkdust from the surrounding landscape. Accent your new stone with plants and other shrubs. For visibility at night it is nice to install a landscape spotlight.

While the steps of installation are simple enough, the work is heavy and some people prefer to have us do it. We offer installation in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area for a small charge. 

Memorial Stones and Garden

I found a nice article today about creating a memorial garden. I thought it was a perfect compliment to our memorial stones! Our engraved stone memorials are the perfect accent to that special place you set aside for your loved one. Read through the article and you will find that you can personalize the garden with plants and flowers your loved one like and of course you can personalize your memorial stone. If for some reason the link above does not work you can copy and paste this. http://www.uvm.edu/pss/ppp/articles/memorial.html

Stone Engraving

So I thought I would take a moment to answer everyones questions about our stone engraving process. The simplest answer is that we use a sandblasting method. It's not an easy thing to do when handed a stone and asked if you can carve into it a pets name along with a detailed image of a dog. I had no idea what it was going to take to get this stone engraving project up and running! I never went to school for graphic design but I have to admit that I've learned more about computers starting this stone engraving company than anything else I've ever done. All of our stones are designed by us on graphic design software. Then we fix the artwork to the stone before it is sent to our sandblaster where we engrave each stone by hand. We then fill each engraved stone with an industry standard memorial grade paint. Finally we clean each stone engraving in a solvent to clean any residue that is left on the stone. What is left is a complete transformation from the stone we selected to the finished product! Stone engraving is an art and we take great care at each and every step of the engraving process. We know that you will see the Stone Creations Northwest difference!

Pet Memorial Stones

When it comes to our pets, most people would agree that they are part of the family. In fact my dad often jokes that my mother and him treat their dogs better than they treated their kids. (at least I think he's joking!) That being said it's understanding how difficult it is when we lose our little furry friends. We love  them, and when they pass the void is felt by all who shared in their life. When I started Stone Creations Northwest I wanted to offer people an elegant and affordable way to honor their pets. Our pet memorial stones are beautifully designed with your custom information for a personalized tribute to your pet. Each of our pet memorial stones are deeply engraved and filled with the highest quality memorial grade paint. Stone engraving is an art and each of our pet memorial stones is tastefully designed to fill the workspace of each natural stone.

Stone Memorials

While this topic isn't always viewed as a happy one, it is a fact of life and when it comes to losing someone you love it is nice to have options to honor their life. Through research of my own I've come to learn that more and more people are being cremated. In fact the numbers are about 70%. I was personally surprised to hear the numbers were that high. I had thought that more people were buried still. Then I thought about the Memorial stones that I've made and some of the things people would say when ordering them. They would say things like, funeral homes are SOOO expensive. The burial, coffin, headstone, service, and everything else added up to a ton of money! So I looked into it. What I found was that the funeral home is really just a middle man, often called a director, who coordinates all the aspect of a funeral from other vendors. Not to put it lightly, but in the construction world they would be like a general contractor. So, they get bids from the coffin manufacturer, headstone engraving, etc and then add on their fees to make money (typically double!) People who are cremated often don't have a traditional headstone, and sometimes nothing at all. We have found great joy in providing an option for those who wish to honor their loved ones with a natural stone Memorial. Our Memorial stones can be moved easily and can be placed within that special place amongst your garden so they will be with you always in spirit. All of our Memorial stones are made to the same standards used with traditional headstones, in regards to the quality of stone engraving and memorial grade paint so you will know that your tribute will be a lasting one.

The Rainbow Bridge

Since we offer pet Memorial stones I thought I would tell you what I know about The Rainbow Bridge. When I started stone engraving I had never heard of the Rainbow Bridge, but have since seen it all over. The Rainbow Bridge is basically just a story written in a poetic prose. When a pet passes away they cross the bridge which leads to a mythological place where they wait for their human companions to join them. 

The Rainbow Bridge has really gained popularity among pet owners and while it is not part of any religion many pet memorial sites use its message. I like to include its message along with our pet Memorial stones to give people who have experienced the loss of a pet some comfort. 

Custom Stone Engraving

This is my first blog so I thought I better give some background on our company! Stone Creations Northwest has been in business for about two years now! I've grown right along with my company and am happy with the response I've received from our products. Stone engraving is truly a form of art and I've learned a lot along the way! I started with the humblest of equipment and now have some of the best equipment around!

I honestly never thought of it when I started that Pet Memorial Stones would be our biggest seller. It is nice to see the joy they bring to grieving pet owners when their little ones must cross the rainbow bridge. Our Pet Memorial Stones come in a variety of sizes so customers can find just the right one for what they want to say.

I just launch my new website so I hope you will please visit it to check out our stone engraving products for yourself!