Don't add the image as a resource. I would rather do the following:
Create the image/icon and save it to a file
Choose Project -> Add Existing Item and add the file
Set the Build Action to Embedded Resource
You can then access this resource using
Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(resourceUri)
This way the image is not magically added to the projects resource file and you will only have one copy of the image stored in the assembly's resources.