Enable Google's Hidden Themes for the Stock Android Keyboard

Source: http://lifehacker.com/enable-googles-hidden-themes-for-the-stock-android-key-1253487329

If you don't love the look of Android's stock keyboard, Google actually has a few other themes built-in. You just need to uncover them with this trick.

You'll need a custom launcher that can access Android Activities for this to work, like Apex or Nova—which we highly recommend downloading anyway, since they're awesome. Once you've got one installed, just follow these steps:

1. Long-press on the home screen and head to Shortcuts > Activities from the menu that pops up.
2. Choose "Google Keyboard" (or "Android Keyboard (AOSP)" depending on your device and Android version), and head to "Android Keyboard Debug Settings." This will create a shortcut on your home screen.
3. Tap that new shortcut and you'll get some advanced settings for your stock keyboard. Choose "Keyboard Theme" to pick a new theme for your keybaord.

You can choose from Basic (which is the pre-Gingerbread theme), Stone, Gingerbread, and IceCreamSandwich (the default on ICS and higher), with a few variations. Pick which one you like, and enjoy!

Google Keyboard Themes | Google Operating System