The panel is done, but since it is a piece of another project, the final panel photos are a bit anti-climactic.   The panel received a couple coats of water-based poly, and the poplar balloons continued to give me grief.   The water in the poly cause them to pucker again, and I had to use a heat gun to re-activate the glue and a roller to flatten them.   If I ever use those poplar veneers again, I'll make different choice for the glue (at least), which I think was the primary culprit in the problems I encountered. 

Here's how it turned out.  I'll eventually be building a frame to go around it, so I've left some excess substrate around the edges for fitting into a rabbet.   I've included a close-up of the patched square - the repair pretty much fades away.

Thanks for following along!  I'll share a collection of photos on a project post.