I like the improved version! As to further lightening it/making it less beige, soft light layers can help. (i.e. a light blue/cyan/light pink/purple fill layer, then set to soft light), also curves, and screen layers, adjusted as you please.

Do you already follow icontalking? It's pretty good for icon chatting and experimenting with new ways of making them (with no voting). But they've just had an Ask the Maker activity, full of tutorials and resources and you can look at the tag to see the previous years.

I have some bookmarked icon resources here, too, although some of the LJ ones have vanished or lost the screenshots since. (I think I checked them last year, so the remaining ones should be working.)

I like the Terror one! Why are icons so much fun and so addictive...?