Katye -- try not to worry. Looking at both the top left and top right corners they both look darkish to me. Sometimes with the larger pattern it takes a while before you seem to be making progress.

Katye - listen to these stitchers. A few years ago they pulled me down from the ceiling. I had just started my first ever cover all project "Lying in wait" by Kustom Kraft and it wasn't looking the way I thought it should look. Their bottom line was patience - so I calmed down and took it one stitch at a time and it turned out absolutely gorgeous. If after awhile you still aren't happy with the pattern/colors stop and recheck before you get a long way into something you don't like. But I really rely on some of these stitchers here. Good luck and keep us posted.
cheryl

Katy, I agree with Nancy and Cheryl. The top corners are dark. When you get down into the reds, things will brighten up considerably. You could stitch over to the center of the design, and then drop down and start on Santa. You'll probably get tired of red after a while, though! 😊 But hang in there. You'll be glad you did.

Good advice...hang in there and trust the designers. They know what they’re doing.

Thanks for all of the input. I sent a picture to Artecy and she said it looks right.🙂

I bet the reds of Santa and his chair will really pop against the dark background. Maybe you might want to use some beads on the swirls of stars or whatever they are.