How to Design Your Perfect Keepsake Ornament

Mother holding the My Moon and Stars Ornament with gold crescent moon and stars design on white enamel, hung on a red ribbon.

My Moon and Stars Breastmilk Keepsake Ornament (2025 Ornament Release)

Ten years ago, I was sitting in my basement trying to figure out how to preserve breastmilk for a thank-you gift to my breastmilk donor. It looked like a full-blown ~~meth lab~~ science experiment for months. I used my doctorate in pharmacy to create, test, and refine the breastmilk preservation process until I finally got it right.

Today, we’ve had the privilege of creating thousands of custom breastmilk jewelry pieces and each one holds a different story.

So whether you’re designing a keepsake to celebrate your nursing journey, honor a baby or loved one you’ve lost, or preserve something sacred from your wedding or postpartum chapter—this guide will help you design an ornament that’s truly yours.

Step 1 — Choose Your Inclusions

Build Your Own Ornament Set — Save 20%_Breastmilk_Jewelry_Keepsakes - Mamma's Liquid Love

Snowflake Breast Milk Keepsake Ornament

The heart of every custom keepsake jewelry or ornament is what you send to us. After working with thousands of families around the world, we’ve seen just how many ways a story can be told.

Traditional Inclusions:

Breastmilk (our original specialty—and still the most requested)
Hair (first curls, memorial locks, or strands from multiple children)
Umbilical cord
Placenta capsules

Memorial Inclusions:

Ashes (from loved ones or pets)
Dried florals (funeral arrangements, remembrance bouquets)

Celebratory Inclusions:

Wedding petals (from your bouquet, boutonnière, or flower crown)

Decorative Additions:

Crushed birthstones (by month or meaning)
Opal flakes
Colored flakes (available in symbolic or birth month tones)

Pro Tip: You don’t have to choose just one.

Important note: Liquid Gold Drop Ornament has sold out and will not be restocked this 2025.

Step 2 — Select Your Ornament Style

Each ornament design highlights your inclusions in a different way. Here are the most-loved styles in our collection:

Tree of Life Inclusion Guidance

This is one of the most popular inclusion guidance designs we have. It works perfectly on our Full Moon Ornament.

For the Tree of Life, the hair is often used to create the trunk and branches while birthstones, florals, and/ or flakes form the leaves—telling your story in layers.

Best for: Representing multiple children, honoring a family tree, or celebrating breastfeeding milestones. We need at least 20 strands of hair approximately 3 inches long.

Examples:

1. Tree of Life Inclusion Guidance on the Full Moon Breast Milk Keepsake Ornament with hair and multiple colored crushed birth month stones.

2. The Full Moon Ornament with dried florals and gold flakes.

Round Full Moon Ornament with dried florals and silver frame

3. Full Moon Breast Milk Ornament with Tree of Life made with hair and crushed birthstones.

4. Full Moon Breast Milk Ornament with Tree of Life made with hair and multiple colored birthstones.

Heart Inclusion Guidance for Ornaments

Full Moon Breast Milk Keepsake Ornament GIF alternating different colored flakes and crushed birthstones heart inclusion guidance

Simple and symbolic, these are perfect for first-time keepsakes or minimal designs.

Choose from:

A full heart filled with florals, ashes, or birthstones
A split heart with two inclusions side by side (e.g., breastmilk + hair, ashes + flakes)

Common uses:

Rainbow baby tributes
Wedding petal preservation
Memorials with multiple symbols

Examples:

1. Unbreakable Bond Ornament with a half and half heart--half hair, half crushed birthstones.

2. Full Moon Ornament with a heart made of colored flakes.

3. The Unbreakable Bond Ornament with a stone made with preserved dried flowers.

4. Full Moon Ornament with a heart made of crushed birthstones.

Unbreakable Bond Ornaments

This design symbolizes the deep, unbreakable connection between a mother and child. The outer frame shows a parent and baby in an embrace, with a heart-shaped inclusion bezel at the center.

Examples:

1. Mother and child keepsake ornament with hair and crushed birthstones.

2. Heart-shaped ornament with mother and child design, available in gold or silver.

3. Custom engraving option on the back for names, dates, or special phrases.

4. The Unbreakable Bond Ornament with a heart made with colored flakes on the breastmilk stone.

Step 3 — Use Color to Add Meaning

Add birthstones that represent each member of your family to add deeper meaning to your keepsake

Birthstone Inclusions by Month

Birthstone chart for breastmilk jewelry inclusions, January to December.

January – Garnet: Orange/Red for grounding and strength
February – Amethyst: Purple for peace and healing
March – Aquamarine: Light blue for calm and clarity
April – Diamond: Clear crystal for resilience
May – Emerald: Green for connection and growth
June – Alexandrite/Pearl: Violet or white for love
July – Ruby: Deep Pink for vitality and joy
August – Peridot: Light green for new life
September – Sapphire: Deep blue for protection
October – Pink Tourmaline: Pink for hope and softness
November – Citrine: Orange for warmth and gratitude
December – Turquoise: Bright blue for peace

Shimmer & Flake Options

Colored birthstone flakes chart for breastmilk jewelry inclusions, showing January to December options.

A chart of Mamma’s Liquid Love colored flakes for custom keepsakes. Each month features its symbolic color—such as red for January, purple for February, blue for March, and more—perfect for personalizing your breastmilk jewelry ornament, ring, or pendant with birth month meaning.

Gold flakes: Classic, symbolic of motherhood
Silver flakes: Cool-toned, often used in memorials
Rainbow flakes: Ideal for rainbow babies or multi-story pieces
Opal flakes: Soft, iridescent glow
Colored flakes: Available in tones matching each birthstone month

Step 4 — Personalization Tips

Here are a few meaningful combinations we’ve loved making over the years:

For Multiple Children: Tree of Life with each child’s hair on opposite sides and their birthstones throughout
For Memorials: Ashes + florals from the service
For Breastfeeding Tributes: A heart filled your baby’s birthstones surrounded by your milk
For Wedding Keepsakes: Petals from your bouquet, paired with your and your partner’s birthstones

Important: The Liquid Gold Drop Ornament has sold out and will not be restocked this 2025.

Want a custom layout?

Just use the chat button on our website to get in touch with me or you can also leave a note at checkout. I personally review every request.

What to Expect: The Creation Process

Timeline: Most keepsakes take 2–12 weeks from the time we receive your inclusions. We’ll always keep you updated, but we promise it’s worth the wait.

Cure Time: We use a jewelry-grade resin that takes at least 7 full days to cure properly. We never rush the process or use UV resin for quick turnaround—it just doesn’t hold up over time, and your story deserves better.

Busy Seasons: Our queue fills quickly during Mother’s Day and Christmas. If you’re ordering a gift, we strongly recommend purchasing early to avoid delays.

Sending Your Inclusions:

Label everything clearly with your full name and order number.

We’ve had to play detective a few times—but thanks to our Facebook community of over 35,000 mammas, we’ve always been able to track down the rightful owner.

Still Deciding on Your Design?

This isn’t just about picking colors and styles.

It’s about turning a memory into something you can hold.

If you’re unsure about what to include or how to combine your story, send us a message or shoot us an email at hello@mllkeepsakes.com. Chances are, I’ve helped create something similar—and would be honored to help design yours.