Pet Memorial Votives for the holidays.
Most people have purchased custom pet memorial votives soon after a pet has died whether for themselves or for others. But often the holidays bring up the grief about a pet who died at any time during the year, or even years past.
Also, as you cast about for a gift for a family member or friend who loves animals, a custom votive is a unique gift that shows you remember their pet, and their loss. Three of the votives I’ve recently finished were Christmas gifts to spouses or partners.
A custom votive for you, family or friend is a way to make an animal companion part of the holidays even though they are physically gone. and it’s also a gift to remember a beloved animal companion at any time.
I create a custom votive using images you provide. If your votive is a gift, I can ship it directly to your friend with a customized sympathy card at no extra charge.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Order before December 5 to ensure delivery for Christmas.
Also, for my Canadian customers, the shipping time on this votive is only a few days longer than in the US, and only $10.00 more, with no duties or taxes. I made and shipped two into Canada just to be sure.
About the votives
I make your Custom Pet Memorial Votive with love and sympathy on the loss of a precious companion, be it yours, or a friend’s or family member’s companion. I designed the memorial votives to focus on your companion’s face, and position their image so that the votive candle shines through their face, especially their eyes. During the day your votive captures ambient light even without the candle, but in the evening, when the candle is lit, the flickering light through your pet’s face in a darkened area is warm and intimate. Watch the video below as I place a lighted votive candle into Luna’s custom memorial votive.
About Custom Pet Memorial Votives
Votive lit at night.
Above, a votive at night.
I designed the first of these memorial votives as a gift to a friend who had rescued Oscar and had previously commissioned a portrait of him. Rather than using his entire portrait where he is sitting up, I designed it to focus on his face and positioned him so that the votive candle would alight his face, and especially his eyes. From its effect on me, and Oscar’s family’s reaction, I knew this was an idea that I could share with other animal lovers.
A custom memorial votive for Oscar.
So I designed the memorial votives to focus on your companion’s face, and position their image so that the votive candle shines through their face, especially their eyes. During the day your votive captures ambient light even without the candle, but in the evening, when the candle is lit, the flickering light through your pet’s face in a darkened area is warm and intimate. Watch the video below as I place a lighted votive candle into Luna’s custom memorial votive.
How I make each votive
Henry
The sample votives you see here were ordered by one friend to give to another, and both parties gave me permission to share the images. I never use any image of a custom item without permission. For that reason you’ll see the same votives repeated as examples.
While I love to be creative with upcycled materials and make many votives using non-recyclable glass jars, I prefer these memorial votives to all be consistent and focus on the subject. I chose a square glass votive for the flat sides that will hold the image without distortion and you can focus on the face of your beloved companion.
Working with your supplied photo or artwork, I use my decades of pet portraiture on paper and canvas and Photoshop skills to prepare the image to fit the votive. I remove background distractions and correct distortions if necessary, and add a color or gentle pattern that suits your pet, pulling ideas from the supplied photos.
In some cases I’ve used a specific pattern from the photo to use as a decorative background, as I did with Pearl’s votive, below. I am friends with both the giver and the recipient, and we had all visited together where I took photos of their cats, for fun. I remembered that Pearl loved to lie on the patio furniture and decided to use the fabric pattern on her votive.
I’ve since created two more with specific background patterns. This is always available, but I may need to charge a $10.00 fee depending on how much time it would take to create what you have in mind.
I print that image on a frosted vinyl label that holds the image with clarity and diffuses the light of the candle, and wraps completely around the outside of the votive.
You can use a wax votive, but as much as I love real candles and flickering candlelight, with years of curious feline noses and waving tails I’ve been trained to use flameless candles. I provide an LED votive candle with each votive I make that has an inexpensive and easily purchased replaceable battery so that you don’t need to run out and find a brand new votive to continue remembering your pet when the original grows dim.
Each votive is packaged with a small care and use card and a message of sympathy from me, “May their light shine on you always”.
If your votive is a gift a sympathy card with your message is included
You may include a message to any recipient. I offer memorial note cards that are blank inside where I will write your message and include it, in an envelope, with the votive. There is no charge for this.
The card for your votive.
I prepare and print your photo or artwork of your pet onto a frosted vinyl label, then burnish it onto a cube-shaped glass vase 3.25″ in each dimension. A sympathy card and an LED tea light are included. The price includes shipping, whether to you or a friend.
If this votive is a gift…
I’ll be happy to ship it directly with a card at no extra charge.
- Use the drop-down to enter your choice of standard or other sympathy card.
- Use the text box to enter your message for the sympathy card and optional text for the back, if necessary.
- If you’ve chosen a sympathy card from my collection, use the text box below to enter the design name.
- Please enter the recipient’s address in the “Shipping Address” area of the shopping cart.
Whether the votive is for you or a gift for a recipient, the votive and card are carefully packed and shipped in a Priority Mail box.
Click here to order a Custom Pet Memorial Votive
A few more sample votives
In some cases I can place two pets on the same votive. This family, unfortunately, lost both of their companions, unexpectedly, in the space of one month. In this case I was provided with several photos and I put them together, which was a small extra charge for the extra time of removing the background from both photos, then merging them together ensuring that Cody and Dakota were proportional to each other.
Examples of working with photos
Below are some examples of the work I’ve done with supplied photos.
Other items with the same art or design To find all items on this site with the same art or design, use the search box for the name of the artwork and you'll find all that's available.
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