WHAT could be a better keepsake than a 3D sulpture of your baby's hands and feet?

SONIA Bethwaite can turn her hands to anything artistic - from card-making and cross-stitch, to paper mache and knitting - but she is making her name in a rather unusual form.

The mother-of-four, who lives in Kensington Drive in Horwich, made the decision five years ago to "capture the innocence" of her children, and started experimenting with casting parts of their bodies.

Last year, having perfected the art, she set up in business under the name Impressum.

It dawned on her that parents who have lost a child might one day call on her services which is exactly what happened.

A funeral director asked on behalf of a bereaved couple if she would make a cast for them after their tiny baby had died.

She said: "I just thought I had to do it for the mum, because I am a mum. It was something I had to do."

Thankfully, most of her commissions are under happier circumstances, and her older children help out by answering the telephone and being occasional models for casting.

It's all a long way from Sonia's first "dabble" with "life-casting", with a shop-bought kit including a mould and plaster.

"I taught myself over 18 months how to cast, perfecting it and experimenting with different materials, until I got it spot-on and I was happy with it.

"I take a mould of the body part, which makes a perfect replica of every detail and then I fill it with stone compound, which is more solid than plaster.

"Then I leave it to dry and make it look like bronze, gold or silver".

Sonia can cast anything from pregnant bellies to lovers holding hands and pets' paws to torsos or faces.

Most popular are the babies' and children's hands and feet.

She uses alginate, a fast-setting mould that is often used by dentists to make teeth and gum casts.

It's an organic material, so safe to use even on babies.

Moulds can be taken at the person's home or at Sonia's studio. Then they are mounted into a 3D frame, which she makes herself.

The display can also include photographs, supplied by the client or taken by the photographer Sonia has teamed up with. She even has her own engraving machine to make the little plaques that go on the frame.

Three weeks after the sitting, the artwork is ready to be delivered.

Sonia now has two display cases at Royal Bolton Hospital, one in the main entrance and one on the maternity ward, which has generated a massive response from patients, visitors and staff.

It is all a world away from her last job, teaching arts and crafts and textiles in a Young Offenders' Secure Unit in St Helens, working with groups of girls aged 11 to 16.

Sonia said: "As long as you give them respect, they tend to give it back. They don't get any sort of recognition in their lives, so when you give them something tangible, help them create something that's theirs you give them a gift."

Creating the 3D sculptures is equally rewarding for Sonia, it seems. "It's great to see parents' faces when they see the result..

"Some cry when they see their children's hands and feet. It's great to do something I love, and it's evolving all the time. This is just the best of both worlds for me, it's really enjoyable."

l Sonia Bethwaite can be contacted on 01204 668966, soniabethwaite@talktalk.net. or www.impressum.org.uk.