A real newbie....

Hello everyone. I am new to this community and I am new to making icons. I have always wondered how to start and now I have Photoshop and I have PSP8. Right now I am on PSP8. So that's where my questions are from. I am having a problem with layers. I can't seem to grasp how to make, edit, and put together layers to get a project. I get the original image but when it comes to the 2nd layer I don't know where to look for it or how to make it show up. I really hope some one can help me. Thanks in advance.