Tips for Texturizing?

[Mewcario]

I've been doing textures for quite a while now, and I'm pretty good with Photoshop, if I do say so myself. I was wondering, though, if anyone had any good texture-making tips. Y'know, things like how to make textures look realistic, and any advanced tips or advice. Making textures look real has proven challenging, but this is because I haven't really gone too advanced with Photoshop. Don't feel like you have to dumb anything down, though, for I'm a quick learner.

[Miniova]

My advice is use the dodge, burn, blur, color replacement, and apply image things.  I think apply image is under select but you select a region you want to alter.  Good luck! 
:af: