craftgrrl | Bags, scrapbooking, stenciling, and a question

Hi. Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. I've been into crafts on and off my entire life. I have so many interests and am generally busy, so when I have the time I usually prefer to just lay in bed and watch TV...

When I was in elementary school and early middle school I used to sew by hand (pencil pouches and pillows mostly) but gave up sewing because it was so slow. In high school I got into stenciling and I've done a lot of that. I've dabbled in other crafty pursuits but none really stuck, probably because of laziness and business. Anyways, I graduated from high school this May and I've had more time on my hands. I got into scrapbooking (though I don't think I do it "correctly"). I also finally bought a sewing machine, and now, a couple months later, I've learned to use it.

The posts here are usually awesome and lots of times inspiring. Here's some of my work:

First photo: The second bag I made on my machine. I haven't used patterns. It takes me forever to cut the fabric and iron it perfectly. Should I just make patterns? ...Because it seriously takes me FOREVER. I didn't use interfacing but the bag is stiff enough. For more pictures of this bag, click here and browse to the right. Explanations are below each photo.
Second photo: The third bag I made on my machine. Also took me forever due to failure to use a pattern. Anyways, I made this from a Medium sized t-shirt. The outside of the bag was made from the front of the T-shirt. The inside of the bag was made from the back of the T-shirt. The inside pocket was made from part of a sleeve. Although I made the bag with a square bottom, it's kind of flimsy I assume because I made it from a T-shirt. I did use interfacing though. What could I have done to make the bag (and especially bottom) stiffer? For more pictures of this bag, click here and browse to the right.
Third photo: Inside of scrapbook. It's a "college scrapbook" of sorts: I started the scrapbook at the beginning of the summer and I've included graduation and scholarships (since that directly relates to college) and anything from this summer. I still have more pages to make. I obviously plan to include all my college stuff in it.. FYI, you can def paint scrapbook pages with watered down cheap acylic paint. Just put some acrylic paint on a paper plate, pour some water into the plate, mix it with a foam brush, and then paint your pages. I painted all of the pages and when I showed my scrapbook to people, they didn't know I had painted the pages. Scrapbooking in general hasn't been nearly as expensive as people say. It's cost me next to nothing. Click here for more photos of the scrapbook and browse to the right. Sorry that my face and name is blurred. I'm just kind of paranoid about the internet.
Fourth photo: Stenciled T-shirt. I stenciled the fist outline onto felt. I painted in the nail polish and bracelet. I hand-sewed the felt onto the T-shirt. I stenciled the text onto the T-shirt. The design isn't perfectly centered, and that irks me. I still wear it though because I love the shirt. For more photos of this T-shirt, click here and browse to the right. For a few more pictures of shirts I've stenciled (probably three years ago), click here and browse to the right.

Now for my question:
     My dad has been really awesome lately and I want to make him something before I go off to college. When RagShop was going out of business I bought some cool canvas-like fabric having to do with golf (it's classy but strong) and some normal canvas, and I wanted to make him a bag. I googled "man bag" and only messenger and messenger-style bags came up and I can't see my dad having use for one.
     I want something that he'll use. About my father: He has his own construction company. He usually carries his materials in trucks and sometimes carries a big leather checkbook thingy in his hand. He's really into golf, but he has a big bag that he carries his putters in. He likes his house clean, and it is spotless, but he scatters his mail all over his kitchen and his faxes and other business stuff across his computer desk. He eats out a lot. He likes to buy and renovate homes. He gets really into it and spends loads of time at the houses.
     If anybody has any ideas of what I could make out of the said fabric (I was thinking a bag, but it could be something different) I would love if you could explain your idea or provide a link to a photo, so that I can work from that. I haven't used a pattern yet, and I'm kind of frightened to. It should be something relatively simple since I'm new to machine sewing and had taken a long hiatus from sewing in general. Thanks in advance!