Rustic Mallet How-To

We recently stayed in a very rustic log cabin for our vacation. It was great. But I don't necessarily really  "Get" the rustic thing, the mindset. Doesn't particularly appeal to me, in and of itself.
This does though..

This mallet is a pretty cool little project that I would like to undertake..

Problem is logs of these hardwoods aren't just laying around everywhere in lower alabama like they are most places. Here everything EVERYTHING is Pine. I think my best bet would be to find some hardwood pallets and carve some mallets out of that material. I think I will get some branches/logs and stow them in the top of my shed to let them dry then maybe attempt this....

Found Via Make:Online

I also found another neat little workshop project on her site. Non-skid boosters..