Hi,
Hazel! (Wow, there are just soo many "
Hazel"s on AF these days, hehehe!) I somehow have NEVER commented until now...
You do NOT seem like a newbie at all! I love the way you try to use so many different techniques on your icons. Even in the first post, I see textures, coloring, cool brushes, interesting text, "doubles" of pictures (I haven't tried that yet!, but yours look really awesome!)
I'll try to list some of my stand-out favorites. And give constructive criticism on a few others

Okay, I LOVE LOVE this XiaoGui one:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...bleh-avatar.pngI think everything about it is great... the only MINOR thing is that the brush seems to go a little TOO far down onto his face, like on his eyelid. I like the brush on his hair, though, and I'm not too sure that erasing it from his eyelid wouldn't make the brush "end" abruptly, so... I don't know, it's a really great icon!
I also LOVE LOVE this S.H.E. one:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...cing-avatar.pngThe coloring, doubling, and the text are great. And it looks really different in style from the XiaoGui one... this one's sort of muted and retro; the XiaoGui one was really bright and fun!
I think this icon is actually perfect!
LOVE this Ariel one:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...ueen-avatar.pngShe looks incredibly regal here. It's the coloring you gave her, as well as the lettering you did in the background.
Another slam dunk!
I think this Eddie icon is really cute, too:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...eese-avatar.pngI like the orange, and the placement of the heart and text is great. I think Eddie's face might be a TAD too orange for me, but it's only a really really minor detail, and it may just be my computer resolution, come to think of it. It's a really great icon!
Okay, going down a bit further, I love the coloring you did on this GuiWang icon for Nicki:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...ver-avatar2.pngI didn't really like the Eddie icon you made for
Hazel...
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...-ltf-avatar.pngI wonder if maybe you found the picture + text a little harder to work with? The icon looks a little faded in terms of coloring (again, at least on my computer screen)... I like the "repeat" of the pictures you did, though

I love the way you handled the empty space on this Arron icon for Love:D:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...alun-avatar.pngIs that a heart brush or a texture? It looks really great, and the way you faded his name is perfect, too. Matches perfectly with that picture/cropping of Arron; coloring is great, too!
Your David icon is really nice!
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...aotl-avatar.pngDid he already have wings, or did you give them to him? If you added them to him, can I just say, BRAVO? This icon is just really fun.
Coloring on Shadya icon is nice. Bright and soft at the same time. I like the simplicity of this.
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...adya-avatar.pngYour L-O-V-E icon of Blue and Annie...
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/a...pray-avatar.pngI find it a little hard to see their faces? I don't know if it's because the picture is too small... maybe you can try sharpening next time?
Overall, I LOVE your work, and it's great to see you trying out so many different techniques/styles on your icons! Looking forward to more from you