Preparations for our first Pazzles Cruise are well under way and we are narrowing down our choices for the 2013 Pazzles Retreats. We like to teach Retreats because we want to help you use your Pazzles Inspiration electronic die cutter or Pazzles Creative Cutter Pro to its fullest potential. Now that I have given the official reason, let me confess that Klo and I do the retreats because we love meeting and getting to know all of you!! We love seeing you get excited about creating your own projects. It makes us feel so happy to see your eyes light up when you finally grasp a concept or learn something you didn’t even know was possible.
We have had a lot of questions concerning the difference between a cruise, a retreat, and a mini-retreat. We have been asked what we teach and what skill levels we address. I will be happy to explain what occurs at each type of event. These will adapt and change over time as we learn more, because you are our teachers as much as we are yours.
All events expect you to have the basics skills learned. We do not teach the fresh-out-of-the-box skills. If you want to watch a refresher video on what you should already be familiar with before attending please read the blog and watch the video here.
Retreat
A Retreat starts on Friday, usually at noon, and concludes on Sunday at noon. (For those who wish to participate, we have a Sunday morning devotional time.) We work extensively in the software and some have called it Pazzles Boot Camp. We require the Pro version of Pazzles Inspiration Studio software (Funtime 2010 for the Pro Creative Cutter). This way everyone is able to follow along with the teachers. We begin with the basics, and often more advanced people will learn something they did not know. We teach how to cut different thicknesses and types of materials plus machine and mat maintenance. Throughout the Retreat we create projects that teach skills in the software. We include lessons on most of the tools as well as how to use some of Pazzles kits and cuttable materials. We thoroughly teach the different kinds of vectorization. Teaching takes place during the day and evenings are for working on your new skills and projects. An extensive Pazzles store is open during the retreat. You will leave tired but you will have made new friends and your confidence to create will be boosted.
Mini-Retreat
The Mini-Retreat is a new concept we are considering. It would be held in conjunction with a Creating Keepsakes or Scrapbook Expo show that Pazzles is attending. The mini-retreat would begin on Saturday afternoon and end on Sunday evening. Sunday morning there is an optional devotional time. Saturday would begin with a skill review so that we know everyone knows the basics. A Mini-Retreat would focus on several projects and within each project new skills would be taught. The nature of the Mini-Retreat is to teach new ways to use skills you may already have and to teach you new ones you do not know. Inspiration Studio Pro software will be required.
Cruise
We are having our first Pazzles Cruise in February. The cruise is seven days including two days at sea. On the days we are at sea there will be classes all day from 9am to 5 pm. The room will also be open for cropping in the evening. On the days in port the room will be open only at night for cropping and creating. The Cruise is more relaxed than a Retreat. Each class is project-based and within those projects we will teach new ways to use your Pazzles Inspiration or Pro Creative Cutter. The upcoming Cruise will introduce some new projects/techniques that have never been shown by Pazzles before. Surprisingly, the cruise pencils out to be a very economical way to attend a Pazzles teaching event. The class fee is lower than a land retreat and you get a vacation too!
We still have room on the Cruise if you want to join us. If you have a valid passport and want to jump on at the last minute, click here to go to the Cruise information page. Then call Pazzles to register for the class.
About our Survey
A few days ago we put up a survey for the retreat locations. We also want to know if the Mini-Retreat concept is something that interests you. The first Mini-Retreat would be in St Louis in April. If you are in the vicinity of St Louis and would travel there for a retreat or convention please let us know if you are interested specifically in the St Louis Mini-Retreat. If you would not travel to St Louis at all please answer just the general Mini-Retreat question and skip the St. Louis question. Your answers will help us determine whether Mini-Retreats would be well attended or not.
The descriptions says you must have Pro software – does that mean Mac users can’t participate?
We have had several Mac users but they are using our Inspiration Studio software with parallels. In other words they have Windows installed on their Macs. Klo and I both have Macs that we use with our Inspirations.
I can hardly wait for the upcoming cruise! I must admit that I am curious to see how the experience compares with the Pazzles retreat that I attended (and LOVED!). My only concern is flying with both my cutter, oops, I mean, “plotter” and my laptop. I am hoping that I don’t have any problems with having two carry-ons since I don’t feel comfortable checking either one. Anyway, counting the days now and really looking forward to having an absolutely wonderful time! See you soon Chris and KLO!
I will not attend any of these events since the Pro software is required. I do not plan to update to the Pro anytime soon.
Kathy, we require the Pro software so that we are able to teach on the same level. It is too difficult for the instructors to teach two different software environments at the same time.