You said no tote bags ... though men do use them for groceries, library bags, storing things in their cars, etc.
They could be finished as wall hangings, or framed up in a picture frame.
Last year I saw some pretty impressive pictures where the lady had taken a panel and then did selective embroidery on the panel. It could be any panel, but in this case there were a lot of birds that she feathered with floss, the leaves on the trees etc. You could do as much or as little embellishing as you wished. These were given as a shower gift, and there was a lot of interest by all present as to how well they were done. They definitely were works of art!