Personalized Candy Cane Ornament
Instruction
Awhile back I saw some flowers with the names in the stem. I thought, in the spirit of Christmas, let's do Candy Canes with names in them. This includes the stencil I made to make the stripes as well. I wish I would've used my paint pen instead of the brush, but lesson learned.
From the left toolbar, select shape, click the arrow next to basic shapes, insert the arch. Rotate the arch 90 degrees. (photo 1).
From the left toolbar, select Insert and Circle. Use the shift key while drawing the circle on the canvas. The circle should be the same width as the arch left bottom. Align the circle so it is centered on the left arch bottom both vertically and horizontally. I haven't found a way to get XCS to do that automatically. (photo 1).
From the left toolbar, select Insert and Rectangle. Draw a rectangle that is the same width as the arch right bottom. Align to the arch right bottom and overlap a little (photo 1).
From the left toolbar select Text. Replace the text HELLO with the name you are using. Use a font that interlocks (I chose Pacifico) and be sure to click the Weld button in the text area. While the text is selected, use the rotate option on the top toolbar to rotate 90 degrees (photo 1).
Copy (CTRL+C) the top rectangle and paste (CTRL+V) it to the canvas. Align the rectangle so it is below the name but centered with the top rectangle. Make sure the rectangle overlaps the name (photo 1).
From the left toolbar, select Insert and then Rectangle. Draw a rectangle the height of your design with a width of 5mm (you can choose any width you want) (photo 1). You will want to unlock the aspect ratio using the lock icon between width and height if you need to make any adjustments after drawing the rectangle.
Leave a space of the same width as your rectangle (5 mm) and copy and paste it to create another one. These will be the sides of the stencil (photo 2).
Create a small rectangle to adjoin the two sides. The rectangle should span from the left edge of the left rectangle to the right edge of the right rectangle (photo 3). Copy and paste this rectangle to cover the bottom of the left and right rectangle as well.
Select the items making up the candy cane. From the top toolbar, select Combine then Unite (photo 1).
Select the items making up the stencil. From the top toolbar, select Combine then Unite (photo 2).
Select all items on the canvas. In the Right panel, select cut instead of score and set your settings. I used the above parameters and they worked great.
Use the stencil at an angle to create the candy cane stripes. Enjoy your ornament.