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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Squeamish trick-or-treaters may be afraid to knock, but their more daring friends are sure to find delight in this wriggling snake wreath, inspired by none other than <em>the</em> domestic goddess Martha Stewart.</p><p>Stewart describes this wreath as <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/854499/wriggling-snake-wreath" target="_blank" title="Wriggling Snake Wreath">&#8220;Dreadfully sophisticated and shockingly fun, a wreath wriggling with snakes hung on the front door gets Halloween off to a screaming start.&#8221;</a> She&#8217;s right on! With a little work, you can have a wreath on your front door that outshines any department store model &#8212; and the raw materials won&#8217;t break your bank account.</p><p>You will need:</p><p>&#8226; Flat black acrylic paint</p><p>&#8226; Bright red acrylic paint (optional)</p><p>&#8226; Rubber snakes, small and large</p><p>&#8226; Black bead wire, 20-gauge</p><p>&#8226; Flat black spraypaint</p><p>&#8226; 18-inch grape vine wreath</p><p>The supplies for this wreath will save you money compared with buying a manufactured wreath, too.</p><p>I was lucky to find the grapevine wreath at the Salvation Army for $2. I bought the snakes in bulk at Amazon.com; they were cheaper than anything I could find in department stores. Plus, I ended up with an abundance of extras I&#8217;m sure will come in handy for later pranks.</p><p>The acrylic paint and wire can be found at any arts-and-crafts store. Be sure to check the newspaper, discount websites or the stores&#8217; apps for coupons before you check out. You are almost always bound to save 20 to 40 percent on non-sale items. You can find spray paint at any department store; any brand will do.</p><p>To get started, you&#8217;ll want to spray the wreath with the flat black spray paint. I went with a few coats of paint to get into as many of the crevices I could. It doesn&#8217;t have to be perfect because you won&#8217;t see imperfections once the snakes are applied.</p><p>Next, crack out the black acrylic paint and paint the snakes. I chose 18 small ones and six larger ones. This was the most tedious part of the process. (If you&#8217;ve ever tried to paint a wriggling snake, you&#8217;ll understand.) Oh, I</p><p>jest. In all seriousness, this step takes the longest. I used as many straight-out-of-the-package black ones as I could, so missed spots weren&#8217;t noticeable.</p><p>Finally, if you decide to paint the tongues red, you can give them a quick coat here. Beady red eyes can be accomplished with putting a bit of red paint on a toothpick and dabbing it on the eyes. Optionally, I took crystal-clear acrylic coating and gave the snakes a light spray. This isn&#8217;t necessary since the acrylic paint used was outdoor paint.</p><p>After taking the time to prepare the snakes, I figured it best not to risk the paint flaking off. Plus, it added a nice sheen to the snakes and helps them stand out against the wreath.</p><p>Now, you should have a pure-black wreath and as many snakes as you want to apply, everything dried and ready for the next step.</p><p>This is where the 20-gauge wire comes in. Start laying the snakes out where you want to place them on the wreath and fasten them in two spots. If you don&#8217;t have small agile hands, be generous with the wire. It&#8217;s much easier to weave longer pieces of wire into the wreath than to make small pieces of wire tight around the snakes.</p><p>That&#8217;s it!</p><p>Once the snakes are fastened, you&#8217;ll have yourself a beautiful wriggling snake wreath on a budget. As Martha would say, &#8220;It&#8217;s a good thing.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">With just a grapevine wreath, rubber snakes and paint you can create a wreath to adorn your front door for years to come. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4372.jpg</photo0><caption0>With just a grapevine wreath, rubber snakes and paint you can create a wreath to adorn your front door for years to come. </caption0><photoCredit0>Jeric Foulds | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4384.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Start with a coat of paint. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4384.jpg</photo1><caption1>Start with a coat of paint. </caption1><photoCredit1>Jeric Foulds | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4402.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A fresh coat of paint. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4402.jpg</photo2><caption2>A fresh coat of paint. </caption2><photoCredit2>Jeric Foulds | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4427.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Up close and creepy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4427.jpg</photo3><caption3>Up close and creepy. </caption3><photoCredit3>Jeric Foulds | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4426.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Snakes slither and wriggle across this wreath. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IMG_4426.jpg</photo4><caption4>Snakes slither and wriggle across this wreath. </caption4><photoCredit4>Jeric Foulds | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Jeric Foulds</strong></p><p>jfoulds@civitasmedia.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Jeric Foulds may be reached at 570-991-6404 or on Twitter @JericFoulds</p></shirttailMeta></div>

This slithering snake wreath is sure to make your skin crawl