With the generous support of people in her community and beyond, an Alaska mom is bringing a touch of magic to the lives of young cancer patients through beautiful and whimsical “princess” wigs, all made painstakingly by hand.

The story of these wigs began last year when Holly Christensen got news that her friend’s 3-year-old daughter, Lily, had been diagnosed with cancer. A former oncology nurse, Christensen says she was deeply grieved for the child.

“I knew having been a cancer nurse what she was about to go through,” the 31-year-old mom of three told KTVA.com.

There was, she knew, much suffering ahead for Lily, who was going to undergo chemotherapy. “She’s such a girly girl and loves princesses and [was] about to lose her long beautiful hair,” Christensen, who lives in Palmer, Alaska, told ABC News.

That’s when Christensen says she got the idea to create a special handmade wig for Lily: A Rapunzel-inspired braided style made out of very soft yellow yarn.

Chemotherapy can leave a child’s skin “very tender and sensitive,” making wearing traditional wigs uncomfortable, Christensen explained. The wig she created for Lily was made on an extra-soft crocheted beanie.

“I knew she would be going through a difficult time, and that no one would be able to take her suffering away,” Christensen told Babble. “I also knew that losing her long, curly blonde hair at not even 3 years old would be difficult for her, so I figured that the yarn wig could help bring a little magic and fun to a difficult time in her life.”

Lily is said to have immediately fallen in love with the wig. She would stroke the yarn, Christensen said, and would talk about a time when she would get her “real ‘Rapunzel’ hair” back. It made her “feel like the beautiful princess she is,” said the mom.

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Josie Kimberlin is one 4-year-old who knows what real superheroes are made of.

They aren’t composed of muscles made of steel, or men flying around in the sky, or even women with impossibly tight leather suits. Instead, real superheroes are made of courage, bravery, and kindness. All of which this one little girl has displayed before she even entered kindergarten.

And the best part is — she completely knows her own strength.

Diagnosed in 2013 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Josie went into remission nine months after her cancer was discovered. So the night before “Superhero Day” at school, Josie’s mother, Alyssa Butler, encouraged her daughter to dress up as herself instead of a classic superhero. Butler told The Huffington Post:

“We were going through her closet the night before and she didn’t really have anything with any kind of superhero stuff on it, so I asked her, ‘Do you just want to go as yourself? Because you know you’re mommy’s superhero. And she just kind of ran with the idea and she loved it.”

Butler explained to Babble that she told Josie that she was her hero and how brave she was.

“She smiled, lit up with a glow that could light the night sky, put her hands up, and acted like she was flying! She felt awesome – she is my hero, and we want to show the other kids battling cancer and disease how strong they are. How they aren’t alone fighting, how they are their own superhero.”

According to her Facebook page, Josie’s Journey, strength has been a common theme in the family’s experience with cancer.

“My daughter has shown me how strong a child really is, how smart a woman really can be, and how easy my heart is broken. The day I heard the news of my angel having cancer, I completely lost it. Shortly after, I looked at her sweet smile and realized that I have to stand up be a stronger mother.”

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