Angry Birds Cable Holders

I needed a way to organize the USB cables that connected my Ipod, Kindle and other devices to my computer.  I definitely had cable management issues;  they are usually tangled and often hard to find, not to mention that I've seen bite marks on the ends from where my cat had been chewing on them.  I wanted to make something that was functional and also looked nice since it would be sitting in a conspicuous spot on my computer desk.   

To make the three characters, I used four packs of Sugru, one of each of the following colours; red, green, white and black.  I probably had enough white left over to make another bird, but I needed it for something else. If you want to make this for larger cables such as power cords you may need to use more.

• Sugru -you can get it here at Instructables
• Soapy water and cling wrap (Sugru doesn't stick to either of these, soapy water is also good for smoothing it out)
• Scissors
• A permanent marker
• The cables you want to hold

Optional: To  dye the Sugru

• Food colouring
• Corn starch
• Spoon
• Shallow dish

I really wanted to make the Red Bird, but unfortunately Sugru doesn't come in red. I searched for information on dyeing Sugru and came upon this forum topic.  Instructable's member Brittliv  experimented with several different paints to dye Sugru. However, I didn't have any of those paints at home in red so I tried using cornstarch and food colouring.  This actually worked quite well and was fairly easy to do. 

• In a small plastic dish measure about 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch
• Add a drop or two of red food colouring and mix with a spoon
• Add dropwise while mixing in between until the cornstarch has turned completely red, but still dry
• The cornstarch should absorb the liquid from the food colouring so it should form a red powder

• Protect your work surface and cable by covering it with cling wrap
• Mix some soapy water and put some on your hands and whatever else you don't want the Sugru to stick to
• To make the Red Bird open a pack of orange Sugru
• Save a portion of it to be used for the beaks (of this bird and the black one)
• Dip the larger portion of orange Sugru into the red powder you made in the previous step, mix it in (you may want to use gloves for this) and add more powder as needed until you get a nice red shade. 
• Save a small bit of the red Sugru to be used for the top feathers
• Form a ball from the larger portion and press the cable down across the lower half, remove the cable and pinch the lip of the trench together.  When the Sugru has cured you want the cable to fit snugly into the trench so that it holds it securely in place, but you also want to remove it if needed.

• Place the remaining small bit of red on the top of the bird to look like feathers
• Open a pack of white Sugru and make the eyes and the white belly
• Mix some of the remaining orange with the white Sugru to form the beak and place it just above the trench
• Open the black pack of Sugru and take a bit of it to form eyebrows (make them look angry).   
• You can affix the finished bird to the spot where you will be using it (Sugru sticks well to wood, glass, computer monitors etc.) or if you want you can leave it on the cling wrap and use double sided tape to affix it where you want it once it dries.  Allow the Sugru to cure overnight

  

• To make the Black Bird use the remaining black Sugru
• Save a small portion of it to be used to make the grey belly and the feather on top of it's head
• Form a ball and press the cable down across the lower half, remove the cable and pinch the lip of the trench together
• Take a bit of the black to form the top feather
• Mix part of the remaining black with white Sugru and place the grey on the lower part of the bird (the belly)
• Form the eyes with the white Sugru
• Take some of the orange left from the previous bird to make the eyebrows
• Take the remaining orange to form the beak and place it just above the trench, save a tiny bit of orange to put on the tip of the black top feather.
• You can affix the finished bird to the spot where you will be using it (Sugru sticks well to wood, glass, computer monitors etc.) or if you want you can leave it on the cling wrap and use double sided tape to affix it where you want it once it dries.  Allow the Sugru to cure overnight

• To make the pig, open the pack of green Sugru
• Save a small portion of the green to be used for the snout and ears
• Form a ball and press the cable down across the lower half, remove the cable and pinch the lip of the trench together
• Mix the remaining green with white Sugru and form the ears and snout
• Place the snout just above the trench
• With a pencil or other sharp object form the nostrils on the snout
• Form the eyes with the white Sugru
• You can affix the finished pig to the spot where you will be using it (Sugru sticks well to wood, glass, computer monitors etc.) or if you want you can leave it on the cling wrap and use double sided tape to affix it where you want it once it dries.  Allow the Sugru to cure overnight

Once the Sugru has cured, I drew in the eyes with a fine point Sharpie, as well as the front of the pig's ears and eyebrows.  Since I didn't actually stick the cable holders whereI needed them before the Sugru cured I had to add some double sided tape to the bottom.