an owesome trick i've learnt through another forum (from a great grower by the way) for cloning is the following method:
1. grab an empty drink bottle. prefferably a clear one. I've used a pale blue one lately and it worked as well.
2. cut it in half.
3. get your pre-soaked rockwool \ jiffi (peat pellets) out of the 5.5PHed water (i use a hint of rooting boosting fertilizers), squeeze it to the point that it doesn't drip when you shake it and stick a pen in to make room for the cutting.
4. cut a diagonial cut on the wanted branch, prefferably about 3" long with close internodes, about 0.5" below an internode. (I've managed to clone a 1inch branch and a 10inch branch, just wasn't that ideal) the cut should be quick with a clean (sterile is better) blade.
5. right after the cut put it in water. air inside the stem will kill the clone. dead clones are sientificaly produce less bud later.
6. pull away the last internode slowly to discover some of the inner parts of the stem. I like to cut shallow cuts with the scalpel over the bottom of the clone as well. first it takes a few seconds, i always like my clones to be wet so i soak them every few seconds.
7. dip it in your cloning gel or powder and put them in your rooting medium. don't let the rooting gel\powder go off the stem when you insert the clone.
8. close the medium over the clone so that it doesn't move.
9. put it in the bottom part of the previously cut bottle.
10. spray some water over the sides of the bottle, the leaves and so on.
11. close the bottle with duct tape and keep the cap off to allow minimal air flow.
keep in mind clone need very high humidity and about 28C when it comes to temperature.
They do not need much light.
after about 10 days they should root (up to 3 weeks is normal) and be translanted. they will need something to cover them for their first week after being transplanted. or to the point they show a second new set of leaves.
thats my pretty fool-proof method. i'm a newbie grower as well and by now about 75% of my clones managed to survive. (i'm doing my first batch of clones right now)