Two tone stain

I recently did a two-tone finish for a coffee table. You can look up my profile to see it. I used Minwax Golden Pecan (the lighter color) on the whole thing, and followed normal procedures. Before it was completely dry, I used the darker color by handrubbing it onto the edges and then blending it inward to create the darkened edges look. I did run into a couple unexpected things though.
When I did the base of the table, I didn't account for some of the darker color coming off and rubbing away when I started to poly. I ended up sanding down some of the poly and then redoing the edges. The second time I let it sit for a full 24 hours before I tried to poly again.
On the table TOP. I started with the darker color, and used a brush to paint out the edges and was going to do the blending in part first and then go over that with the lighter color... also, not the best thing because the edges of the stain where I painted were difficult to blend in going straight on the bare wood.

Here's what I would recommend...
Start with the lighter color. Stain it all. Before it dries completely, do the darker parts, but do that in small sections and spend as much time as you need to get the blending right. Let it dry completely. Once you have the finish stain perfect, use a spray on poly for at least the first coat or two. Then sand it down and do how much ever more poly you need for the finish you want.

That's my two sense. :)