Newbie Question

Hey all, I'm new here. I was just wondering about PSP 9. I have this program but I am looking into making icons. I am having a hard time getting the person part of a picture onto a background.  I have ideas on what I want to do, but I just want to make pretty pictures. Kind of like my LJ icon here. I am a member in _proudmama and someone kindly made me one here. But I would like to learn for myself. Thanks all