Lessons in Antiquing a Bench

I bought this really cute bench at a wood shop. It has been sitting by my front door unfinished for months now. I finally decided I wanted to get it done and put it in my garden for my girls to sit on. I chose a soft yellow color. Then I decided I wanted to antique the edges so it looked a little rustic and fun. Well... I had no idea what I was doing. I painted the bench yellow and sanded the edges. Then I used some wood stain and smeared it over the wood and tried to wipe it off... that didn't work. It only made it look very dirty and a gross black color. So I painted it yellow again and tried some antique paint I found at the hobby store. That did NOTHING to it at all, that I could see. So I took my sister-in-law's advice and just dabbed the edges with a black ink pad. That worked out pretty good. To finish it off I sprayed it with an outdoor finishing spray. It took me a few tries to figure something out, but I like the way it looks.