Advice wanted for map border

[GrimFinger]

this was the small scale practice map i did, i plan to use similar/same colors

1. Think in terms of scale. On the small scale practice map, your decorative border crowds the overall visual, drawing the eye away from the land masses contained on your map. Thus, rather than accent the core work, the border actually detracts from it.

2. Your decorative border is an exercise in decorative minimalism. Meager decorative flourishes will tend to underwhelm the eye. Sometimes, less is more, but not here.

3. Part of the problem on display here is your chosen color palette. Such bright, garish colors assail the eye. All of that yellow/gold jars the eye. If your intent is to retain these colors, you might want to consider thinning the rings of your border.

this is for a pen and paper map that i plan to use water color paints on, but im stuck on how i should color the border. i have been trying various things digitally but nothing really looks right.
below are 3 variants of the border.

orig sketch


"wooden" frame


ocean continues behind


white frame

4. With regard to the images posted in your first posting in this thread, you really might want to reconsider your resort to color. There's a reason why you feel that nothing really looks right. A sizeable portion of why that is so is likely due to color issues, as much as anything else.

5. You might want to consider increasing the width of the interior line of your border. Relative to the exterior line of the border, it doesn't provide sufficiently strong visual contrast.