I recently tried this out on a little box project out of some 3/4" red oak and it worked very well. I made the pattern myself based on a 1/4" bit. It took a little bit of thinking to make sure things would line up properly, but it was not too hard to do manually.
I also tried pre-staining the wood for a 2 color look. That worked ok too.
First I cut a large outline of the area I wanted to stain:
(1/8" down cut bit)
Then the box lid detail:
(1/8" down cut bit)
Then I switched to a 1/4 inch downcut bit, because it was long enough to cut all the way through the 1/4 stock.
I then cut the box bottom and the cutout “pattern”
I actual made a HUGE mistake here that worked in my favor. I had forgotten to add tabs to the cutout pattern parameter! But because I was using a down cut bit, the chips packed back into the cut as it went. Wedging the work piece in place enough to keep it in place during the final cut.
But this was pure luck. I was able to make 3 of these so I was lucky that the chip packing effect was consistent.
I was concerned about how tabs would effect breaking it free and flipping it, so I got very lucky.
I then flipped it and carved the back part.
I was impressed at how well it wedged in. Though I specifically used a downcut bit on this part to help keep in place. I was afraid that a standard bit might lift it up and out - though it probably would have held fine.
On the whole I was very happy with how this worked. It was quick and easy to do the flip. And would be even easier with a gadget to make the flip cut perimeter.
However it does waist a lot of wood.
I actual plan on making a bunch more of these (Different styles and types) to sell. So for a production run I plan on using a pin style flip so I waste less material (and keep costs low)
Though for a quick one off project I prefer this approach, assuming I have a big enough piece of wood to do it.