While looking at the theme, bkg style and feeling; the text really doesnt smear with those things. Having a bevel effect with stroke was not the best choice here.
Your work is pretty much of random stuff. Try to stick to what the theme is talking about. The way you wanted to blend, brush and fill up dead space was wrong imo. Look at the sig for a sec, its in huge mess.
You still struggle with blending I see.
Think about what I said. Good luck.