Ever see those big skins made for laptops?
Don't they look like they'd be really hard to get back off?
That's the main reason I've shied away from them in the past, but really wanting to add a personal touch to my laptop, I started thinking about some possibilities for customizing it.

These are the considerations I had in mind, if they apply to you too then this is the mod for you! :)

- Variety: I like switching things up according to my mood, so being able to change my laptop's look often is important to me
- Cost: since I'll be using a bunch of different themes I need to make sure that each one isn't too expensive
- Ease of use: switching all these themes should be easy and fast, and since we're talking about a laptop it should be portable too
- Non-destructive: I don't want my laptop to be ruined or ugly whenever I don't want any themes at all, so the part that's on the laptop itself should be low-profile

Thinking about these aspects of what I wanted, I came up with this idea:
Make a way to fasten patches to your laptop

What you'll need:
- Sticky back velcro tape ($2)
- a ruler
- scissors
- any and every patch you like (generally $2- $4 on ebay)

Step 1: The Velcro Tape

Be sure to get the type of tape with a sticky back, in the image below it's covered by the white paper.
Also be sure that you get both the hoops and the hooks, even though you'll only be using the hooks side once.

Step 2: Add Velcro to Laptop

Use the ruler to determine the middle of your laptop's lid. Unless you want it somewhere else, obviously this is just as personal as the selection of your patches.
Cut a piece of the hooks side of your velcro strips roughly 2 inches long, remove the paper back and stick it to your laptop like in the picture below.

Why the hooks and not the loops side, you might ask?
The simple answer is that you can't see the velcro strips when you put the patches on, and may need to do some adjusting. I'd prefer it if the soft, loopy side of the velcro tape is the one that gets rubbed against my laptop's lid.
The hooks could potentially scratch it.
A further consideration is that you'll be carrying the patches around in your bag too, and you wouldn't want them to constantly get caught and stuck in there or to each other.

Step 3:

The reason the velcro strip in the previous step was 2 inches long is because most patches out there have a rough diameter of 2.5 to 3 inches, so you'll have the best grip without the velcro showing.

The square patch below for example is 7x7cm (1 inch = 2.5cm)

At this point you should already have at least one patch to work with.

Step 4: Preparing the Patch

Cut the hoops side of the velcro tape to the same size of the hooks strip on your laptop.
The best patches for this kind of stuff are iron-on patches, as they provide a smooth surface for the sticky side of the velcro tape.

Step 5: Stick the Tape on the Patch

Make sure you stick the tape to the middle of your patch.
The type of tape I bought is strong enough that you'd have to do a lot of prying to get it back off, so don't mess this step up.

Step 6: The End Result

And this is what you get in the end.
There's a little bit of room between the patch and the laptop, but that doesn't bother me. You'll have to decide for your self whether that's a deal-breaker for you or not.
It's more visible in the next picture...

Step 7: PlayStation Patch

The gap between patch and laptop is slightly more visible here.
Don't forget that the screen gets flipped up, so put the patch on so that it's right-side-up when you're using it.

Step 8: Fox Unit Patch

Here's the other patch.

This is also a very inexpensive, easy and personal gift idea. If someone is struggling to find a nice gift for you that doesn't cost a fortune, just tell them that if they find a patch they think fits your personality pick that up instead.