PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

1.  Wet your sea sponge with water and wring it out.  Dab it into the white paint-and-glaze mixture you just created and then dab it down on a large paper grocery bag.  Do this until you see the heavy paint texture that initially comes off start to minimize.  Once you start to see the crisp patterns of the sponge, it's time to move to your pre-painted poster board sheets.

2.  Dab the sponge on the poster board.  Get creative here.  Alter the angle you bring the sponge down, turn it in the air before you "stamp" the sheet or turn it while you've got it pressed down against the poster board.  This is all about being creative and getting a feel for how the sponge works and how you'll use it to create your clouds.  (Be sure to look at any pictures of clouds you have to get an idea for the best way to shape your clouds).

3.  Take as long on this part of the process as you need.  Keep sampling.  Keep experimenting.  Try different sponges, different sides of the same sponge, different techniques. (If the shapes and patterns you produce seem too crisp or too sharp, you can soften them down by dabbing them LIGHTLY with a barely damp cotton cloth).

4.  When you have a basic cloud shape, go back with your sponge and dab new paint into certain parts of it, typically the middle of the cloud, to create a thicker, whiter look.  While you're doing this, be sure to allow areas around the outer edge of the cloud to remain thin and almost transparent:  you want to be able to see blue through some parts of the cloud!

MOVE TO YOUR CEILING

1.  Eventually...when you finally feel comfortable producing cloud shapes, it's time to move to the ceiling (or wall).

2.  Start somewhere off center and work from there, basically doing the same thing you did on your practice sheets--just on a bigger scale.  (Your biggest clouds in a standard room should be about2 - 3 feet long.  Don't make them much smaller than 1 foot).

3.  Continue like this, changing the shapes and sizes of the clouds, until you've covered the ceiling to your satisfaction.  And then put your stuff away and enjoy the results!