You will also need 3 patterns of your choice installed in Gimp (there are tons of them that are free on the internet)
Fire up Inkscape.
Go to File, Document Properties, Grid, and click to make a Grid of your working space. Leave the little menu open for later.
Click on the Text tool, choose the font Acknowledgement. Size doesn't really matter because you can enlarge your creation later on.
pressing the shift key, make an X. Click on the Arrow tool and select your x. Got to Edit, Copy.
Now, we're going to form a heart, using the grid so that our "Xs" which are the symbols of our cross stitches, will be level.
Paste 2 X letters one next to the other, skip 3 grid squares and paste 2 X letters, one next to the other.
Now let's do the next row, beginning with the space in front of the first X of the first row, lay your Xs across, 7 of them, ending with the space after the last X of the first row.
Select all of the Xs of the previous row and copy, now paste on the row below. Now Click on one of the Xs of the first row and copy it.
Paste 5 Xs across the row below, skipping one X at the beginning and one at the end.
Make 3 Xs across the next row, skipping one X at the beginning and one at the end. Make 1 last X at the middle of the next row.
We have our heart shape now! Now with the mouse, select all of your Xs, go to Object, Group. Now click on the little menu you left open and remove the grid. Close the little menu.
Export your heart to a folder of your choice as a bitmap (PNG) and close Inkscape.
Fire up Gimp.
Open your heart in Gimp.
Select the Bicket tool, choose Pattern Fill and fill each individual X in the way that your personal taste tells you to. When you're happy with the results, go to Filters, Light and Shadow, Drop Shadow and apply it.
Then go to Layer, Merge Down. Save again by choosing Save As and choose File by Extension, so that you can make it a PNG.
That's all!
Here's a pretty inspirational scrapbook image using our heart:
