Chris, within the link I supplied, there are helpful maps including one for the Blue Planetary.
You have to take your time nice and slow searching for them in the eyepiece as they can be fairly faint. Make sure the object is high enough in the sky, say around 40 deg. and make sure the moon isn't around. That being said, The Ring Neb is fairly low and that is still an easy find, but being bright it's easier.
Sketches give a more realistic view of what to expect at the eyepiece. In general, you should expect just about all DSO's to be faint, that's why they're nicknamed "faint fuzzies", some are more so than others.
As you get more experience observing, these things will pop out at you much better as your eyes get trained. The main thing is patience at the eyepiece. In time to come, what was dim in the past, you'll refer to as quite bright!
Another helpful tip I can offer you is to read thru the reports section in the Observation forum (it's right at the top of the page). Here is a good example of a PN report by Paul. Reading these reports sharpens our skills and helps us know what to tease out and look for.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=73566