If you're looking/feeling to do some carving I've both seen and done some wonderful runic inlays with chalk pastels and 5 minute epoxy. Essentially you rub the pastel on sandpaper to reduce it to a fine dust and mix it with other colors to create a relistic looking powdered stone. Mix the resulting chalk blend with 5 minute epoxy and then spread it into your carving so it's completely filled in. Toothpicks and popsicle sticks work well here. After it's dry, 24 hours or so just to make sure it's nice and hard, you can sand it down so it lays nice and flush with your surface. You'll need to use fine sand paper to avoid making the surface clouded.
I'm not sure if I have any examples around still. It's been awhile. If I find any I'll try and get a pic posted.
Now there's a thought to chew on, thanks
