How the Wildflower Friends Were Born
They began with a prayer.
Long before I ever started working with an artist, I had a picture in my heart of the kind of girls I hoped these characters would become. I wanted them to feel familiar. Girls who quietly pointed others toward Jesus simply by the way they lived.
One thing I knew from the very beginning was that they had to be watercolor. I’ve always loved watercolor because it feels peaceful. Unlike bold lines and bright graphics that demand attention, watercolor invites you to slow down.
As we began developing the girls, I found myself thinking back to my own childhood.
I grew up loving Holly Hobbie and Strawberry Shortcake. There was something comforting about those sweet, wholesome characters. They felt like childhood friends, and years later I can still picture them in my mind.
I wanted the Wildflower Friends to capture a little of that same nostalgia while becoming something entirely new.
Not copies. Not modern versions. But original friends that today’s girls could grow up loving in the same way.
As we sketched and painted, every detail mattered.
I wanted each girl to look different because that’s how God designed His daughters. Different skin tones. Different hair colors. Different personalities. Different gifts. I wanted every little girl to have the opportunity to look at these friends and think, “She reminds me of me.”
But what mattered most wasn’t how the girls looked – it was who they were. I never wanted them to become characters whose purpose was simply to be cute. I wanted them to become reminders.
Each girl was created around a gift God has placed inside His people. A gift that isn’t meant to bring attention to ourselves, but to point others toward Him.
Whether it’s creativity, encouragement, hospitality, music, wonder, or a love for learning, every one of those gifts becomes beautiful when it’s surrendered back to the One who gave it.
That’s the conversation I hope mothers and daughters have together. Because somewhere along the journey from little girl to grown woman, many of us quietly lay down the gifts God placed inside us.
Sometimes life becomes busy. Sometimes comparison convinces us our gifts aren’t important. Sometimes we simply forget what once made our hearts come alive.
But I don’t believe those gifts disappear. I believe they’re waiting to be rediscovered.
Maybe that’s one of the reasons these girls mean so much to me. They’re not simply introducing little girls to beautiful qualities. They’re quietly reminding grown women, too.
Remember what God placed inside you?
Remember the dreams you once carried?
Remember the joy you found in creating, serving, encouraging, exploring, or simply noticing beauty?
Perhaps it’s time to pick those gifts back up again.
This is only the beginning of the Wildflower Friends. We have notebooks to fill. Stories to tell. Lessons to share. Adventures to explore.
These girls have so much more to say.
My prayer is that, years from now, mothers and daughters won’t simply remember our products. I hope they’ll remember the conversations those products started.
Because if the Wildflower Friends help even one little girl discover the gifts God has placed inside her or help one mother remember the gifts she thought she’d lost…then every sketch, every prayer, and every watercolor brushstroke will have been worth it.
Scripture
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” — 1 Peter 4:10
Prayer
Lord, thank You for creating each of us with unique gifts, personalities, and purpose. Help us recognize the beauty You have placed within our daughters and within ourselves. May we never overlook the quiet ways You work through creativity, encouragement, hospitality, wonder, and love. Use the conversations we have together to help the next generation discover the gifts You have entrusted to them, and give us the courage to use our own for Your glory. Amen.
Reflection
When you were a little girl, what gift or passion made your heart come alive?
Is it possible that God is inviting you to pick it up again and to help your daughter discover the gifts He has placed within her, too?
