Bookcase with a carved out cross

One of my friends needed a bookcase for his wife. She has many Bibles and devotionals as well as teaching material for Sunday school.

He wanted it to match some existing furniture. A distressed pine with a look of an inlay on the top. They gave me dimensions to build the case, but gave me free reign to create.

The shelves are adjustable with a face frame that floats wherever the shelf is placed. I saw Norm Abram do it, the rest is history.

The top consists of a 7” wide board with an 1/8th” 1/8th ” rabbet on its top face. I picture framed it. The gap was filled in with a contrasting wood filler. Yes, I did. I also carved out the cross with a chisel and filled it in too.
When I was sanding it smooth I noticed that I took too much down and the wood was now showing through the filler. At first I was upset for a second. I wet my finger and wiped over the cross and was excited to notice that it appeared to be emerging from the wood. That little oops was the best part of the project.

-- Be good or be good at it!