Upcycled "Smoked Tote"

I'm so tickled with this little tote I couldn't stand not to share it with the world, even though it was a gift, not a keeper. This year at Christmas dinner the BF handed me two sacks that the hams had arrived in for dinner from the past two years. He asked if I could make anything from them knowing I've got the creative bug in me and after a minute of thought I said I thought I could manage a tote from the smoked pork smelling sturdy cotton fabric. He fancied the idea and that gave me the perfect project for his upcoming birthday.

It was more difficult than I originally imagined, but I guess that was more from stress that I was winging this tote from scratch and had no extra fabric if any mess ups were made. I'm not really a pattern following kind of gal and my mind seems to work much better on the fly...so I was completely pleased that this tote turned out as well as it did on the first shot.

I used the two ham sacks which are perfectly stained and worn to give it a vintage farm feel and paired it with the last of my vintage blue striped upholstery fabric I hoarded a few years back. I finished the handles rough faced open and stitched everything together with a light pink thread even though it was for my guy.

It's easy to be a little greener when such great materials are at your fingertips. Next time you go to throw out a package or other seemingly useless material try asking yourself if there's anything creative you could reuse it for...you just might surprise yourself.