Here I go again. I was snorkeling the Internet and came across an old postcard that someone used to indicate a link to her mail. “What a clever idea!” I thought. But I am not one to borrow other peoples’ images, so I grabbed an old watercolor I did a few years back, put text on it through Photoshop, and put it in my sidebar. I linked it to my website’s mail which will ostensibly clean it of spam and forward it to my home email. I’ll let you know if this works out.
How did I do this?
Open Admin panel and click on Media Download your graphic as you want it to appear in your sidebar (with Click Me in text, or whatever you choose to indicate this is a link to your mail) Copy the URL of the image (appears in File URL) Click on widgets, and then drag an “image” widget to your sidebar. You can choose now, and change later, where you want the widget to appear. Paste the copied File URL into Image URL Title it or not – I didn’t Adjust the image to be 150 X 150, or the size of your choosing Place your email address into the Link URL (at the bottom) by putting in: “Mailto:” and then your address. (Do not use the quotation marks.) For example, mine is – Mailto:Patsye@whimseytopia.com Click Save, and wait for the wheel to stop turning Check it for viability by returning to home page, and clicking on your new mail widget.
Potential for mail button
I read some chatter that “Mailto:” doesn’t work for all users trying to email you, though your link should be fine. But I figure if they want to get in touch with you they’ll try another way, like subscribing, or leaving a comment. There is also the issue of roaming bands of digital thugs who look for email addresses with the intent to drench you in spam. My Mail account has a spam cleaner, as does my website’s mail account. When these occasionally fail to do their job, I always “blacklist” the sender, which works for awhile. However, everything you do, including this, is at your own risk. I choose to take it because I love getting mail from readers, some of whom are not familiar with that tiny little “comment” section below the post that is in a font so small, I can barely see it myself.
Other ideas I had for mail icon images are photos of keepsake letters, postcards you’ve received from afar; a picture of your own mailbox in front of your house or on your porch; a picture of your house; a picture of an old air-mail letter; a picture of an important stamp – perhaps the one you used on your wedding invitations or birth announcement; an image of an old typewriter. I’m sure you have plenty of pictures around, and probably better ideas than mine.
And one other thing. This sounds like the perfect button to change seasonally. I was thinking of a turkey for Thanksgiving, a wreath for Christmas, Valentine’s postcards for Valentine’s Day, etc. Like the blog banner itself, I can see myself changing this out for each holiday. Enjoy!
whimseytopia 
Excellent work! I am techie so I may have figured out the widgetery, but the watercolour is fabulous, I am admiring your many skills, and absolutely can’t wait to see what you’ll think of doing next.
Wow, I admire your widget wizardry 🙂
Thank you. I made a postcard to share with others if they want, but I’m having trouble getting it up online. I’ll work on that this weekend. I find this fun. And I’m learning so much.