Instincts Design Studio, Ltd

21/05/2024

21/05/2024

10/03/2024

Behind the scenes....

How it started With 110lbs of snowy branches......😳😳

How it ended ❄️💙❄️🩵

08/03/2024

We had the honor of creating a Winter Wonder-LAND ❄️for Mayor Pete Land's Inaugural Gala. Mayor Pete is the Mayor of Crown Point, IN.

It was a snowy, wintery, sparkly, snowflake filled event. 💙🤍🩵❄️. We loved the midnight blue velvet tablecloths from Windy City Linen, the cascading snowflakes, the amazing backdrop for photos, blue & white hydrangea, 3-D wood snowflakes, glittered snow, fairy lights & silver charger plates. But most of all....we LOVED 🤍 LOVED the snowy flocked branches from Oregon!! Just Magical & lots of them. 110lbs to be exact!!

It was hours & hours of set-up with the BEST crew ever!! Thank you to everyone that was a part of this special night. As they say it takes a village....a snowy village 🩵❄️💙 of snow queens & snow kings 😘

14/02/2024

Happy Valentine's Day 💖

Share some extra love with everyone today 💓💞
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#❌⭕️❌⭕️

17/01/2024

We're still swooning over this gorgeous head table ❤️

01/09/2023

Even while playing Wordle, I have weddings on my mind 😍. A great occupational hazard 😂🩷😅.

I love creating gorgeous bridal bouquets 💖💖

My fab Wordle guess, is the last photo, if you don't want to see today's Wordle 😬😉.
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01/07/2023

The perfect wedding cake with gorgeous flowers for Mary & Hector's garden party. Celebrating their November elopement. Colorful roses, peonies & fresh garden ivy adorned this gorgeous cake from .

No matter the size....all wedding celebrations are better with a delicious cake & fresh flowers 💖🩷💖.
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25/06/2023

A day late but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate National Pink Day 🩷. We love pink flowers.... peonies, roses, orchids, ranunculus, hyacinth, freesia, hydrangea...anything pink 💕
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30/05/2023

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02/04/2023

Peonies from Alaska are available in the summer....the only place in the world you can find peonies During that time. They have a great farm & we love their high quality peonies.

They are all harvested by hand by hard working people.

If you know someone that is up for a summer peony season adventure & would like to work at their remote farm.....contact EagleSong Family Farm in Alaska. You can find them on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

They are looking for summer help 😊 to harvest their gorgeous peonies. Eaglesong Family Peony Farm

16/02/2023

Congratulations to the gorgeous, accomplished Vivian & her staff at BloOuts in Highland Park on their 10 year anniversary! 💖 Hard to believe that fantastic opening night was 10 years ago! We celebrate your continued success at both locations - Highland Park & Winnetka. Thank you Christina Noia for the beautiful photos 💕

16/02/2023

Look at these spectacular Double French Tulips. Variety name Jonquieres.

They open so beautifully & each bloom is a work of art. Just gorgeous!! 💕💖💕. I can't stop looking at them - WOW....just WOW 😍😍😍
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14/02/2023

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you're all celebrating with some gorgeous flowers. Everyone smiles when they see flowers 💖😍💖. Make someone's day with some beautiful blooms 🌺🌹🌸🌷💐
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💋 ❤️

31/01/2023

All white & ivory flowers for a gorgeous tablescape.

Japanese sweet peas are in season & they are so delicate and beautiful. Perfect for a little girl's baptism celebration 🤍🤍🤍
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02/01/2023

Happy New Year 2023! 🎊🍾🎉🥂

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy New Year! Filled with love, family, friends & flowers! 💖💞💖.

Thank you to all of our fabulous, flower loving clients! We love & appreciate all of you! We love creating flowers for your events & being a part of your celebrations 😍.

Here's to lots of flowers & fun in 2023 💖
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26/12/2022

I hope everyone had a great celebration! Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah to all our friends and clients!

06/12/2022

It was a bright, chilly day for a Winter wedding at the Historic Courthouse in Crown Point, IN.

The beautiful bride carried a bouquet of stunning Red Charm peonies from New Zealand, Quicksand Ecuadorian roses, lacy Dusty Miller, delicate parvofoglia eucalyptus, seeded eucalyptus & rhinestone bling.

Her groom....so handsome in a navy suit by Hart Shaffer & Marx.

The bride's grandparents got married at the same courthouse in 1934. They were married for nearly 60 years 💖💖💖. We wish Mary & Hector as much love and happiness for many decades!!
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06/12/2022

Great story about winterberry! Grown in the USA & superior quality ❤️❤️

For the last three decades, ILEX Verticillata has been a passion project for Lane DeVries. Mature ilex plants produce berried stems every other year, which means they are a long-game crop that requires devotion. Lane knew that he could dramatically improve the quality of this crop.

In 2006, DeVries started working with some Ilex test plants, which he had planted on a plot of land in a beautiful location — on the inside of a bend on the nationally designated Wild and Scenic Trinity River in Northern California. This microclimate provides a perfect spot to grow ilex, Cotinus, rose hips and other botanicals.

DeVries ranked each individual plant using a 30-point scale based on the positioning of the berries on the stem, the saturation of color, the size and number of berries, and stem length. He took cuttings from 20 of the outstanding performers and these were repropagated and replanted —this process created identical genetic copies of the strongest plants. Then he planted, tested, replanted and retested, creating ilex plants with the most desirable traits. This entire process has been repeated for over a decade.

Next, DeVries took the best selections and let the bees do their work cross-pollinating the flowers and creating unique new strains of ilex. He had the fields diagrammed like a stadium, each plant in an assigned section, row and seat so that it could be closely tracked and monitored. This systematic undertaking was — and is — a labor of love for DeVries.

Sun Valley two patented varieties of ilex named “Autumn Spirit” and “Winter Spirit”, which have been bred on our farm in Willow Creek, CA.
We grow ILEX at our Willow Creek Farm, located 40 miles inland from coastal Arcata in Northern California. This canyon in the north hills provides the perfect micro-climate for ilex—a long, extended autumn, mild weather, and rich soil. These elements come together to help us produce our high-quality ilex, renowned for its long stems and large berries.

“Innovation is a key to success in the floral industry, and by bringing a dramatically improved new ilex to market, Sun Valley continues to delight and amaze our customers,” said Lane DeVries, chief executive officer at California-based Sun Valley Floral Farms.

27/10/2022

A gorgeous celebration cake. Years later, I am still in love with this Autumnal inspired birthday cake 🍂🧡🍁🤎💛. Cymbidium orchid blooms, roses, fondant leaves & a cute pumpkin topper. This gorgeous cake was delicious too!! Butter Pecan cake with Carmel buttercream 😋😋. A fabulous creation by Margaret Carolan from Ta Dah!
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27/09/2022

Insights into my life as a floral / event designer 💖.

For over 30 years I have designed countless weddings, parties, life events & celebrations for my clients. My flowers are my life's work & they bring such joy. It's not just "a job".

Today I received a text & photos from a client vacationing in Italy.

I had used the very trendy bleached Italian Ruscus foliage in his Mom's funeral flowers in 2020.

While attending a wedding in the gorgeous Lake Como area, the same foliage was in a vase on their dinner table ❤️. It reminded him of his Mom & my flowers. I have worked with this family for over a decade & have had the privilege of being a part of their family events and celebrations. I have loved every minute of it!

It touched my heart that they would think to text me these photos 😍.

When his Mom passed away in 2020, I was soooo distraught. I had created so MANY parties / life events for their kids over the years & his parent's 50th anniversary party. I absolutely adored his Mom! I was so sad she passed away 😢. She was a very special lady & I always smile when I think of her 😊.

This is why I love my job. A shared history of life, love, happiness & sometimes sadness. But the common thread is my flowers & us working together.

And people say flowers are useless because they die & nobody remembers. So not true....they DO remember if you give them something to remember 😍. My clients always remember my flowers ❤️💖❤️💖. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful, special clients that become friends & family.

Just had to share this with all of you. This is why I just can't quit & close up shop. The past few years with no events has been an enormous challenge. But I keep going.....because of texts like this ❤️😍❤️😍❤️.

Thank Marc & Adena 😘😘. You made my day! Enjoy Lake Como 🇮🇹
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09/09/2022

Today is National Teddy Bear Day! The perfect day to share some photos from our adorable baby shower a few weeks ago. Teddy bears were everywhere - 🐻🧡🤎. Guest tables, entrance table, sweet table, es**rt cards, table numbers & especially at the balloon backdrop. Bears everywhere 🐻🧡 with lots of balloons! The parents to be can "Bearly Wait" to see their bundle of joy. We loved creating this baby shower for them. Teddy bears are so fluffy and cute & always make people smile ~ We Love That 🐻🧡🥰🤎. Enjoy the cuteness!
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08/09/2022

A life long lover of flowers. RIP Your Royal Majesty The Queen. The world will miss your grace, spirit, dedication & smile.
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23/06/2022

Happy National Pink Day 💖. We love pink! Pink peonies, roses, dresses, lighting - even grooms holding pink bouquets in wedding photos! All things pink 🎀🌸🌷👛.

As they say.....Pretty in Pink 💞💕💞
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18/06/2022

Incredible!!! Flowers, flowers, flowers!!!! Gorgeous💖💖

Alla fiera dei fiori a Medellin, Colombia. 🇨🇴🌹💐🌸🌺🌼🌷

11/06/2022

Sadly, local peony season has come to an end. But what a magnificent season it was!

My personal garden peonies suffered severe damage as a result of the January 2019 polar vortex. With no snow on the ground to insulate the roots...the 2019 peonies were small & yielded few flowers. The past 2 years I have added crushed egg shells, coffee grounds, Dr Earth fertilizer & fresh soil to enhance their growing environment. This year, all of the nutrients paid off! Look at these beasts 😍😍😍

In the first set of photos - the peonies are 9 days old! The last photos are how they started out. 3 days post harvest. They developed so beautifully!! I sure hate to see them go ~ especially their glorious fragrance that filled the house with such a lovely perfume.

Peonies have always been one of my favorite flowers. We always had a long row of them in the back yard where I grew up. I guess some love affairs really do last a lifetime 💖💖💖
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