Paint.NET :: Glossy Button Over Background Image

I created my avatar using Paint.NET years ago:
 
It is looking dated (to me), so I had been thinking about sprucing it up.
 
I decided I would remove the ugly text "jp2code", throw a transparent Glossy Button effect over it, and put my text on top of the glossy button as an Etched Glass effect.
 
So, I look up and start reading up on a couple of the better glossy button tutorials:

Making glass buttons, and Buttons (ymd:110331)

I have used them both before with great success, but this time proved difficult. Neither of them seems to have a good way to use a background image.
 
The best approach I found was to create a ymd button using a light gray background and setting the opacity down to 150 or so.
 
The end result looks no where near as nice as I had pictured in my head:

As you can see, it is very dark, does not look like a Glass Button, and I have not found a good Etched Glass effect.
 
How to brighten up the Glossy Button without washing out the background?