I enjoy doing different projects from scratch and I had seen variantions of the three crosses for Easter many times. I wanted to do something simple and only using the tools provided with XCS. With this, I provide a step by step tutorial of how I made the sign only using those tools within XCS. Enjoy
Use the XCS Provided images of the cross and quarter moon shapes. (See Photo) Increase the cross size to 2". each arm of the cross will be .568" in width. Create a rectangle .568" wide by 2" in height.
Select both the rectangle and the cross and then use the "Align" function to horizontally center them. Then use vertical align center. You should see the rectangle and cross overlap. (See Photo)
Select just the rectangle and then press and hold the shift key. While holding the shift key, click the down arrow key 32 times. This will create a bottom leg on your cross of appropriate length to represent a true religious cross. (See Photo) Select both the cross and the rectangle and unite them under the "Combine" option.
Select the moon shape and turn it 90 degrees so it faces down and unlock the Width and Height. (See photo) Adjust the moon shape to 3.5" wide and .75" high. Select both the cross and the moon and horizontally center align them. Select the cross alone and adjust it to where it just overlaps the top of the moon. (See photo) Again select both the cross and the moon and then unite them.
Copy and paste the cross. Adjust the pasted copy to a height of 1.75" then copy and paste that once. There should now be one large cross on a hill and 2 smaller ones on a hill. (See photo) Move the two smaller crosses to either side of the large cross and intersect with the hill. (See photo) Select all three crosses and then unite them under the "Combine" option.
Under the xTool shaps, select the tear shape. (See photo) Turn it to where it is pointing straight down and then unlock the width and height. (See photo) Select the tear and adjust it to .35" wide and 3.5" high. This is a single ray. Relock the measurements. (See photo)
Move the ray the top of the large cross then copy and paste it to one side of the cross along one of its arms. Rotate it to angle into the upper crook of one arm of the cross. Copy and past the ray and then under "Design", reflect it horizontally. Move it to the opposite arm of the cross and line it up to match the first ray. (See photo)
Paste another copy of the ray but this time, turn it onto its side. Unlock the measure again and change its width to 2" but leave the Height at .35". Copy and paste this ray and move it to the opposite side of the arm. Under design, reflect it horizontally and line it up to match to opposing side. (See photo)
Then you will copy and paste another ray (with measure unlocked) and make the size 1.5" wide and .25" in height. Copy and paste this so you have four of them. Adjust each to point at a corner of each arm and the top arm of the cross. (See Photo)
Select the crosses and the rays and unite them into one piece. Set them to cut.
Create a rectangle 8" wide and 10" high. Select the rectangle and the crosses and center align them. Select the crosses and move them up until you have about 1 inch space at the top and just over 2" at the bottom. You can eyeball this, it does not have to be exact. (See Photo) Set this rectangle to cut.
Copy and paste this rectangle to on another canvas.
Type out the words "He is Risen" and change to the font of your choice. I chose Alegreya for mine. Adjust the size to your preference and center it below the crosses. Set this to engrave.
Cut and engrave your pieces.
Yes, pieces. You will engrave the “He is Risen” words, cut out the crosses and cut out the additional rectangle on the other canvas. If you have a board big enough, you could do both out of one board. I only had 12x12 pieces of birch so I used those.
Cut settings were the preset ones from xTool for Birch 3mm.
Power: 100% Speed: 4mm/s Pass: 1
Engrave settings were also from xTool library but I adjusted it slightly to get a darker engrave.
Power: 65% Speed: 100mm/s Pass: 1 LPC: 100
If needed, sand your pieces to remove any burn marks.
Paint the plain rectangle piece solid white.
As for the piece with the crosses, you can paint or stain it or leave it bare. For this, I chose to leave it bare.
Once the paint dries, take your crosses piece and coat the back side in glue. Stay away from the edges near the cross to avoid or minimize squeeze out. I like to use Starbond thick adhesive or Loctite superglue gel. Both will give you a few seconds work time before bonding. Line up the crosses atop the white rectangle, ensuring the edges line up.
Tip: Put the two pieces together dry (no glue) Line them up so the edges are perfect. Then put masking tape along one side to act as a hinge. Open the boards so that they lay beside each other with the crosses front side of the board laying face down. This will make it easier to line up the boards after you put on the glue. (See Photo)
Once set, check the edges to ensure they have lined up and if you need to, sand them down slightly to ensure a smooth edge.
After this, I applied a light coat of spray Shellac by Zinsser and then, after about 30 minutes, I applied a light coat of Minwax warm gloss spray Polyurethane for a great but light shine.
Enjoy your "He is Risen" sign.
Should you want something smaller, once you have completed the crosses, the words and centered them within the rectangle, select all parts and reduce the size to what you would like. Keep in mind, the smaller it is, the less white shows through the rays around the crosses. Once you have reduced the size, select just the rectangle, copy it and paste it. This will be your white piece.
Another optional item, and to save on waste, you could take the pieces that were cut out for the crosses and rays and paint those. Glue them onto another board to create an alternative version for this. Engrave what you would like under the crosses or leave plain.