Wife’s Cross Project

I had gone through making several iterations of crosses for my wife to wear before settling on the final one. I carved our crosses out of oak and both originally started out quite small but the final onesĀ are a little larger than normal. It’s my gift to her for the after-life, this old Irish guy to my beautiful Filipina girl.

My wife was holding her cross at the viewing and it will follow her into the next world as the Mortuary assured me she would be cremated with it. I have finally finished mine which I mounted her wedding ring on and that will ultimately hold some of her ashes once I get them, as well as some of her hair. I opted for something a bit more simplistic in design but still used the cross I had made.

Please enjoy the pics.

Initial crosses I made

Above are the initial crosses I had made, old style and very simplistic. It is quite coincidental, and unnoticed at the time, that the strings each sort of form a heart shape. I didn’t notice until some time after the pic was taken.

Crosses cut out

I had a chunk of birch so I carved out the small cross in a rock to put on a shelf. The two crosses are actually from the same piece of wood. Once I had the cross cut out I then cut a quarter of that away for the intention of making my wife’s cross while the larger would be a neck urn for myself.

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Coming along nicely and much as I intended. I’m trying to stay somewhat simplistic while at the same time putting my heart into the design. I want a sort of Irish Catholic feel to them.

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Finished with their designs, bore is drilled into the bottom of the larger cross, next will be to stain them and add individual aesthetic decorations.

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Post light staining process to the crosses and I also rubbed some tongue oil on them both. I will let them dry for about 48 hours or so.

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My wife’s cross is wrapped and finished. It will go with her on her journey from here.

Final design

Finished my neck urn cross. The idea for my cross was to respectfully use her ring in a neck urn that would contain her ashes and a few strands of her hair.

I know a halo cross is actually three beams representing the trinity but with regard to the black string I couldn’t make that work out exactly but there are representations of the halo cross in religious works that look like a plus sign. In any regard, I know what my intentions were so I’m good with it.

With regard to the bore drilled into the bottom of the cross, that will hold a small round cylinder that I will put some of my wife’s ashes in and a few strands of hair before gluing/sealing it shut.