Hey people, I have taken your critiques and have learned from my mistakes.
For new viewers, here is the old draft, #5:
http://www.fadedelement.com/wip/faded_element/faded_element_draft_5.jpg
This is the new, updated, lighter version. Again, no footer yet (will work on that later):
http://www.fadedelement.com/wip/faded_element/faded_element_draft_6.jpg
Let me know what your thoughts are, please!
My only thought is too much gradient texture, does anyone think so as well? It looked too blocky without the slight gradients, so I decided to go with them.