We always seem to focus on just the complete skins themselves when talking about WindowBlinds, but there is so much more you can customize and change with WindowBlinds 7.  Today I wanted to focus on how to change the Explorer Background with WindowBlinds.

Here is your default Explorer window.

In the WindowBlinds interface you have a tab at the bottom for Explorer Backgrounds.

There are quite a few textures included with WindowBlinds, but as with other textures in WB, you can also create and use your own textures.  To apply a texture simply click on the one you want to use, and you will immediately see the change in the preview window.

To use your own image texture, just select ‘create texture’, and choose the image you would like to use.  You will then see an editor where you can modify the scale and other aspects of the texture to be used.  When you are ready just save it from there, and it will appear in the texture list.

Remember that you don’t have to use this feature with a WindowBlinds skin.  In this example I applied my texture to Aero.

More information and downloads can be found at www.windowblinds.net.

TWiS took a day off last week, but we are excited to return this week to showcase some hot skins from WinCustomize.  It seems we have a nice variety of skins from DesktopX themes to some really cool wallpapers this week. 

Check out this weeks picks!

	Blue My Mind DX by RedNeckDude A cool blue color is just what I like, and this DX theme takes the cake.
	Sedge Grass by Ausvet Grass scenes for animated wallpapers have always been popular, and this one adds to the collection.
	Hang In There (TM Suite) by Philly0381 Philly0381 has compiled another suite of skins based on an RND DX theme.  Nice work!
	Searching for Captain Nemo by teddybearcholla I just really like the simplicity and color of this wallpaper.  Great job!
	a1949 Wallpack by PoSmedley A beautiful wallpaper pack.
	Le Baron by gmc2 This is a more minimalistic WindowBlind skin, and it makes great use of color.

We are winding down another month, and summer has also officially started.  There’s lot of stuff going on, so be sure to check all the galleries because there were just too many great skins to feature this week.

Now for this weeks picks!

Happy Friday, and welcome to another edition of This Week in Skinning!  There was lots of good stuff happening in the skinning world this week including the release of DeskScapes 3.2 which introduces a cool new wallpaper coloring feature.  We also had more Master Skin uploads this week that you should definitely check out.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Waterfall Splash by amitsaran Waterfall animated wallpapers have been very popular over the years, and I can see why with beautiful scenes like this.
	Storm Brewing LV by Frankief This is a great wallpaper, but it also makes a great logon for Windows when used with LogonStudio.
	Diamonds checks and stripes by ahabkaba If you have ObjectDock, this is a very cool set of tile backgrounds to use.
	Rendezvous by Richard Mohler This is just an awesome scene.  Great job on this!
	Aero Station by Mirsguy I really love the overall design and look of this WindowBlinds skin.  Really no need to describe it, just download it and see for yourself.

DeskScapes 3.2 has been released recently, and one of the cool new features is the ability to recolor static wallpapers.  Along with the Effects feature, this gives you a wide range of customization abilities for wallpaper that you will just not find anywhere else.  If you have a favorite wallpaper that just doesn’t match your WindowBlinds skin, then most likely you can adjust it to your liking using DeskScapes.

Take a quick tour on how to use it:

Just select a static wallpaper and the ‘Change Color” tab will appear at the bottom of the DeskScapes window.

In the coloring tab you have a variety of options to color your wallpaper.  The drop-down menu will give you a choice of specific color ranges to target for more specific coloring, or you can just recolor the entire wallpaper. 

You can then use the sliders to adjust the color and saturation of the wallpaper.  While adjusting the sliders you will see the changes in the preview, and when you are happy with the changes just click Apply.  As you can see in my example above, I like the wallpaper I selected but want to make the water more “intense” so after recoloring the water, I think it looks great!

For more information about DeskScapes visit www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes/.

Where did this week go so fast?  Well Friday is here again and I don’t need to tell you again what that means, but I will anyways and that is it’s time for This Week in Skinning.  TWiS is the best and the only weekly skin and theme feature on the internet today, and we shall not be outdone!

Now for this weeks picks!

	Plaid unbrella by poetoffire I like seeing unusual and unique skins, and you don’t see a plaid umbrella skin every day on WC.
	Stratos DX Dock by RedneckDude Stratos is a hot, new Master WindowBlinds skin from 2of3, and RND has made this matching DX dock, and it is steaming as well.
	IronMan Music Icons by sAARGe Whether you are a fan of Iron Man or not, this is a very cool icon set.  There are other IronMan icons in the gallery, so be sure to check it out.
	Softer by bk13GarbageMan I’m always impressed with the RightClick skins that are submitted, and this is another one that deserves some recognition.
	Deliberate by DEVJIT This is a beautiful wallpaper.  The colors and design is fantastic.  Great job!
	Revolver by essorant One of the many Master skins we had this week.  I can’t pick a favorite as they are all superb, but this skin is what I have been using the most this week.

Can you believe it is June already?  We are rolling into summer, and this week has especially been good as several Master skins have been released, and a couple more on the way. 

Lets check out this weeks picks!

	Robotic Defense Retriever by theAVMAN This is just a very cool theme for CursorFX.  An incredible amount of detail and cool animation.
	Tropical Cavern by Ausvet It’s summer time, you need to put something beachy on your desktop.
	Contrast by pinchecl A darker style of icons for IconPackager that will go great with some of the more recent WindowBlinds skin in the gallery.
	Pastels by jazzilady The color combination are great, and make for a funky desktop.  Nice work!
	Sunflower by Urant This is just a very bright and refreshing wallpaper.  Fantastic!
	Snow Blinds by gmc2 A clean and minimal WindowBlinds skin with a great use of transparency in the taskbar.

Another week down, and just in time for a nice long weekend!  I hope you have some great plans, and I still hope to see some skins rolling in this weekend.  The Beginning of Summer contest is still going on, and I’m going to extend the date out a couple of weeks just to get some more skins in, so if you haven’t submitted yet, you still have some time. 

Now for this weeks picks!

	Beach Vacation by amitsaran Just a beautiful beach scene to get your warmed up for summer.
	Chrome and Glass  Tile by Vervi59 This is a really cool set of tile backgrounds for ObjectDock.  Great detail!
	Ecalibur (TM Suite) by Philly0381 Philly has once again compiled a beautiful suite of skins based on the Excalibur project.
	Mauvacious by Nimbin Another sweet RightClick theme with a smooth design.
	Sunrise wallpaper pack by teddybearcholla These are some beautiful picture of sunsets.  Great job!
	Thunder Storm WB by treetog Treetog has taken the time to update another classic skin to be compatible with Windows 7.  Nice work!

After a break of a couple of weeks, This Week in Skinning has returned!  The skin submissions are ramping up again and I hope to see a productive summer.  We have a “Beginning of Summer” skin contest going on, and there is still time left to submit, and I will probably extend the deadline a few weeks to make up for some uploading issues we had earlier.

Now for this weeks picks!

	Flower Power by Ausvet This is a funky, flowery, animated wallpaper for DeskScapes.  Beautiful!
	Colors Weather by sViz A great weather widget, which is also a template for others to learn from.  Great job!
	Signal by pinchecl A slick and smooth icon design makes this icon package a worthwhile download.
	Precious Corel Beds by DEVJIT This scene really caught my eye, and adds a perfect element to a relaxing desktop.
	Rusty Rooster by treetog A new WindowBlinds from Master Skinner treetog, which is actually a whole suite as there are a bunch of matching skins.  Great design and style as always!
	Luna 2010 Essentials for kids by TomRichter This skin created for kids is a fantastic idea, and was well executed.  Keep up the great work!