David Nebenzahl wrote:

After seeing the responses here, I went ahead and did a little
experimenting on a scrap piece of wallboard. I used regular mud,
dabbed on with a stiff brush and "knocked down" with a taping knife.
After just a few minutes, I actually managed to get a decent texture
that would probably be OK for some patch jobs (I painted it after it
dried to see what it would look like finished).

You're a smart guy. ;-)

Having done that, I can say that it's definitely easier to lay down a
heavy texture than a light one. Even the lightest texturing I did
ended up looking pretty "fat". I can see how having some way to
evenly spatter small spots of mud on the surface would yield a much
nicer texture.

1. You can buy spray cans of texture that give you more or less the
same results we pros get with dedicated equipment. The problem is that
they're kind of expensive, and you might use up one just practicing.

2. Thin out your mud to lighten up the finish. You can spatter thinned
mud with a stiff brush.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX