Start with something simple like this before trying to complete your entire skin.
Get the variables/logo/categories etc working then start with this.
This would be placing plugins 1, 2, and 3 one after another.
example from the skin 'bobbyzhuo'
<?php
$inputsize = 45; // input width of the 3 plugins
echo '<font size="4" color="#FF6600">' . $pluginname[0] . '</font><br /><br />';
include($pluginpath[0]);
echo '<br /><br />';
echo '<font size="4" color="#FF6600">' . $pluginname[1] . '</font><br /><br />';
include($pluginpath[1]);
echo '<br /><br />';
echo '<font size="4" color="#FF6600">' . $pluginname[2] . '</font><br /><br />';
include($pluginpath[2]);
?>
This would be plugins 1 to 6 displayed one after another. You should start always at 0 and work your way up as you move down in your code.
example from the skin 'colors'
<?php
$inputsize = 30;
for($i = 0; $i < 5; $i++)
{
if($pluginpath[$i] != 'plugins/p1_empty/empty.php')
{
echo '<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#D6D6D6" align="center" height="20">
<div class="pluginname1">' . $pluginname[$i] . '</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 6px;">';
include($pluginpath[$i]);
echo ' <br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>';
}
}
?>
I would get your html working, then get in the subdreamer variables, then the subdreamer logo, then the subdreamer categories... once you get that far and start to see your design interact with subdreamer is when you can get excited and play with the above. I always use existing skins as example of how to get the plugins in there.