I haven't tried it yet, but I'm interested to see what it would look like if one color was applied across the grain, and left to dry, and then the other color was applied on top of it going with the grain, and left to dry...My thinking is that applying in two different directions might provide a more layered affect...I have seen occasions where the background color was applied with absolute/full coverage, while the top color is applied with a more "skimmed" technique, to allow the background to show through.
I do however, like what you've done in the second sample...I think the first one looks ok as well, but doesn't have the contrast that the two colors of the second one has.