Instead of resolutions I like to pick a word or phrase to remember, focus on & grow in. This year I felt I needed to focus on Hope – specifically, hoping in the unseen. {Keep scrolling to find out how to make this 3-d tissue paper rainbow}

More often than I’d like I find myself unable to see the forest through the trees. I get stuck behind what’s immediately in front of me and it robs me of being able to remember the bigger picture – other truths about the situation at hand that should influence my emotions, thoughts & responses… if only I could remember them!

For the past few weeks I’ve been following a trend that’s been sweeping through Italy and Europe that, for what I can tell, started with some moms and kids who were choosing to remember and focus on hope for the future instead of getting stuck in fear of the present.

Yep. Every little thing is gonna be alright.
(And I hope you’re singing Bob Marley).

One thing I love is how the truths of scripture are hiding in plain sight all throughout our lives. And when we look for them, we find them! 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

So, on Day 1 of my city’s 30-day stay-home order, I wanted to share this reminder to hope! The future may be different than what our recent past looked like. But let’s hold onto hope that it’ll be different in eternally better ways! And let’s join the movement to spread this hope to our neighbors by making a rainbow for your window – after all, it’s the symbol of God’s promise to mankind. What better to visibly remind us of hope!?

You can follow the movement on social media with these hashtags: #letsallbewell #windowrainbow #followtherainbow #chasetherainbow #therainbowtrail #frommywindow

And of course, join in on the fun! You can draw your rainbow on poster boards or paint them directly on the window, or you can use tissue paper like we did! {Keep scrolling to find out how to make this 3-d tissue paper rainbow}

For our rainbow I knew I didn’t want to use something that would block out the natural light, and because my daughter’s only 2, I surely wasn’t about to let her paint near the couch! Tissue paper was the perfect solution!

There are so many fun & creative ways you can make window rainbows with tissue paper. As a photographer, I love dimension in photos so I came up with this design, inspired by a DIY backdrop idea I saw on Pinterest.

Here’s all you need:
– Your choice of colored tissue paper. I used 2 pieces of each “ROY G. B” (and white). And 1 piece of V (violet… aka purple).
– Scissors {I used a rotary cutter and cutting board}.
– Scotch Tape.

Instructions:
– Fold each piece of colored tissue paper horizontally, with the crease at the top.
– Make 1″ cuts, starting from the bottom & be sure to leave appx. 2 inches uncut at the top. (Depending on your cutting method you should be able to cut more than one piece at a time).
– Crinkle the strands (a la middle school cheer-leading pom poms).
– Tape them to the window in the shape of an arc (I started with Violet and worked my way up. {ROY G. BIV}
– Finally, crinkle the white pieces and tape them at the bottom of each side!

Good luck! Be sure to tag me on social media if you decide to make your own!

Stay well, friends!