I'm pretty sure it's okay to link to sites even if they don't follow you, I personally just went hog wild. That said, there is a caveat: unless the user says it's okay to hotline or requests it, it's usually considered rude to hotlink the button. I'm pretty sure making buttons is okay, might be good to let the sites know so they can squee and be happy about it
I think personally I wouldn't find it rude but some people may feel differently? Not sure on the common etiquette. It seems like something that would be more flattering than not.
So I asked myself.. what would it look like if I made a calm page like Finel. I like it. It gave me a chance to use float: left; as a layout design. I also think this might be a good page/layout to use when I finally start trying to try out media queries.
ohhhh! I will tell you that (like it says in my footer) the base of my site is based on one of Eggramen's templets which I then edited to suit me, just in case you wanna check that out.