If you want to build your own theme, I think it's a good idea to start with only an Indiestep build.
Just put all stuff in a folder (eg. Litestep) and download the docs from shellfront.
Read the doc before trying to use your Indiebuild...
Then, start little. An ugly taskbar, an awfull popup, and the systray...
Take your time to discover where you want to go with Litestep. After the incubation period, you will discover that you can CONTROL almost everything on your computer...
Welcome to the LS world...