has anyone ever tried this? is it possible to scuff the travertine and finish it with a wood floor picture frame pattern?

Will, Not sure what you're asking. Are you asking if you can use a waterborne urethane floor finish on marble? Or are you asking if you can have a wood border (picture frame) around the marble? You cannot use wood floor finishes on stone. They will not adhere. Marble is traditionally honed and polished to attain the shine that it sometimes has. Certain ceramics and paver type tiles do have topical treatments specifically designed for them but marble is a different story. Marble must be polished! Since it is a relatively soft stone, you can cut it back to install a wood frame around it. If I were asked to perform this job, I would first layout my borders, cut back the stone and substrate with a diamond blade on a skill saw with a fence in place (no free handing here). After the cutting is done, have the stone polished by pros. When they're done, lay your bordered flooring. By using engineered or a very stable solid, you don't need to worry about butting the wood tight to the stone but allow some expansion on the outside (wall side). Good Luck!

i am just wondering if anyone has ever tried it. i have done plenty of picture frame jobs with slate and c/tile. i have always used engineered wood. now i am faced with 3300 ft of brazilian cumaru that i will have to sand and finish than install travertine

All I can say is test a tile and see if scuffing will break the surface tension.

Heck, they poly concrete, and other hard surfaces. You could be the guinea pig here?