Textures and stock images - difference between them?

[Shaiana]

Um... I'm not sure is this the right place, or is someone asked this before (I tried to find something with Search, but I didn't find anything...-.-'), but please don't eat me if I have done something wrong.

What is the difference between stock images and textures? I use them like brushes, (I mean I make them brushes and use them that way) but is there any other ways to use them? I have noticed, that they are nearly same things, but I'm not sure.

[Michelle]

I use stock images for like blending, I dont really like using texture brushes much.