I used White MDF because it saves a lot of time and effort preparing timber. Easy to clean up and has a shiny finish. It also gives a nice outline around engravings.

The 2 pieces when cut out give the project a solid feel. You can of course just do the front and change the slots on the base to compensate. Probably wise to measure your timber thickness and make the two slots on the base a suitable size. My timber was 3mm and with 2 pieces glued together my slots were made 6.15 mm (adding my Kerf of 0.15 mm)