With Father’s Day around the corner, I set out to use my skills to make a creative gift for my collector dad. He’s been collecting matchboxes forever — from all over — and I recently realized the collection has some really beautiful hidden gems. Each book is like a miniature piece of art. But why has he been keeping them hidden in a crowded jar on a shelf when they could be DISPLAYED for all to see?!

Insert: me. Endlessly restless daughter who will DIY anything for TikTok. I found 8 by 8 inch shadow box frames on amazon for cheap and simply glued the matchbooks according to color onto the backside of each frame. The backings were a white linen so they made for a nice backdrop for the matches. If you get frames with a plain cardboard backing, I suggest using a piece of cardboard, cutting it to the exact size of your frame, and gluing the matchbooks to that instead.

Laying them out nicely was a small challenge because I wanted the space between each box to be as close to perfectly even as I could get it. I love how the color blocking looks but it would be fun to arrange according to where each book is from instead.

I’m so happy with how these came out! Such an affordable and easy Father’s Day gift. You can watch me make them on TikTok here. Let me know if you try it!

Supply list

• Frames
• Matchbooks collected from your local restaurants, your travels, or purchased online on Etsy
• Glue