took me several tries to get it right... still improving on it.
Walnut stain on cedar. Several coats to darken it.
Coat of clear-coat and dry. Buff with 0000 steel wool.
Take a sponge-brush with walnut stain, dab off most of it, then add the patterns you like. Note it will not soak in and may even run together. It will look like the second arrow from left when it does this and you can rotate the arrow to control how that effect looks - or - you can take a dry sponge brush and dab off the runs for another type of look (arrow furthest left is me latest version).
Let dry a day, another buff with 0000 SW, then crest and final clear dip (I am using water based clear from 3R). One more scuff for a hunting satin look.
thanks for the interest and happy to share my idea.
Cary