Hello All! Glad I found this forum!

What a great forum. I'm relatively new to woodworking (1 year) and have recently gotten into a lot of free hand router carving, scripting and geodesic type pieces. Eventually would love to explore the CNC world, but one step at a time. Had a question for the group and didn't know if it went here or elsewhere, but let me know...New here and all.

I have an 8x8x8 in block of canary wood I'm going to (hopefully) make into a solid phone/tablet holder for my Mom for Xmas. 2 questions really...one general and one router based.
First, I need to get this block into a relative shape of the example shown here. What is the best way to properly remove the bulk peices of the material from the block? I have though miter saw, chisel? I don't have a table saw yet so open to ideas.
Second, I plan on routing a thin piece of TBD wood with a pattern she really likes, going all the way through with the intent of exposing the canary underneath as a contrast to a darker top overlay. What is the best bit type to get a clean cut/edge on the piece? Not a lot of fine line work needed. Just crisp edges. Also, what should I bond the overlay to the main piece with that wont discolor/drip yet hold flush?

Thanks in advance!