This spooky Halloween snake basket is a real treat. It has a Beetlejuice look to it that is whimsical and lots of fun.

Halloween is such a fun time of the year for me. I love to do crafts and DIY projects more during these few months than any other.

This project looks scary, will delight the neighborhood trick-or-treaters, and adds some great curb appeal to my front entry to welcome my Halloween party guests.

This spooky Halloween Snake Basket will delight both young and old this holiday season.

I especially love to put together easy craft projects that don’t cost much and can be discarded after the season ends. When my daughter was younger, I used to keep all of my seasonal decorations from one season to the next.

I still do this for some of my favorites, but if I stored everything I made, it would take an airplane hanger to store them all, and I get tired of them anyway. I’m fickle that way.

I found a Halloween scary snake basket that I featured on my Holiday site a few years ago and just knew that I wanted to make my version of it. The original was inspired by the 1980s movie Beetlejuice.

What better than striped poisonous snakes to scare your visitors?

I have wanted to do this project for several years but could never find just the right things to make into the snakes. I looked for years to find bendable snakes that were reasonably priced and never could find just the right ones.

I really wanted a striped snake in just two colors and most snakes that I found were too colorful for what I had in mind. Besides, I really like the idea of making things myself, rather than purchasing them.

It seems more “crafty” that way to me.

Well, all that changed when I walked into Michael’s craft store the other day and found a three-pronged striped “thing” sticking out of a floral arrangement.

Eureka – I do believe I have found my snakes! They were everything I needed:

They were bendable √
They looked something like snakes √ (well actually, they looked like a Jester’s hat in Michael’s, but in my mind, I saw them as snakes)
They were striped √
They were cheap √ (as luck would have it, this was the last stem in stock and it had no price, so they basically gave it away to me. Not quite but cheap enough for my purposes.)

I had to work on the stem. All three “snakes” were on one stem, and the ends were squared so they looked a bit like something out of The Nightmare Before Christmas and not a lot like snakes.

I snipped off the ends and removed some of the foam underneath and sewed the back into somewhat of a point.

Now he needed a head. That is where my trusty duct tape came in. I cut a piece about 1 1/2 inches long put it on the tip of each snake and twisted it around into a point.

Very snake-like, if I do say so myself! To make the snake basket you will need these supplies:

1 decorative fall bucket
1 small bag of potting soil
1 small bag of packing peanuts
1 bag of moss
3 bendable snakes
3 pieces of black duct tape

Start by filling the bucket 1/2 full with potting soil. This gives it some weight so it won’t tip over when you have it displayed outdoors.

Top with the packing peanuts and then add the moss to the top.

Place the ends of the “snakes” into the moss and down into the packing peanuts and potting soil. Bend the stem and tip to resemble the snake. That is all there is to it.

The hardest part of the project truly is finding just the right snake-like-looking thing. Add some silk leaves to the top of the moss, and a couple of Dollar store gourds for an extra fall effect. My new Halloween snake basket looks right at home, displayed on my front step with the colorful mums.

Not sure if I dare leave it outside when I am not there. Cute things like this have a way of disappearing!I love the way the Halloween snake basket looks on my front entry. Pumpkins, mums, and other plants give the snakes a great place to slither, don’t you think?

Do you store your seasonal decorations, or do you make and discard them like I tend to do?

Yield: ` porch decoration

Spooky Halloween Snake Basket Porch Decoration

This whimsical porch decoration does double duty and a fun Halloween decoration and a welcome to fall.

Active Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Difficulty easy

Estimated Cost $10

Materials

I flowered bucket
Potting soil
! small bag of packing peanuts
1 bag of green moss
3 bendable snakes.
Black duct tape.
Gourds and leaves to decorate

Tools

Scissors

Instructions

Fill the bucket 1/2 full with potting soil.
Top with the packing peanuts and add the moss to the top.
Place the ends of the “snakes” into the moss and down into the packing peanuts and potting soil.
Bend the stems and tips to resemble snakes.
Add some silk leaves to the top of the moss, and a couple of Dollar store gourds for an extra fall effect.

Notes

I found my "snakes" at Michael's craft store. They can also be me made with foam dowels covered with silver and black duct tape.

I found my bucket at the Dollar Store.