settle down...everything is OK...breathe deep, relax!
There are potting mixes made especially for starting seeds but they can be very difficult to find. I suggest using a good soilless mix. One w/o fertilizer would be better I think. Start them outside in full sun. I like to use those trays that HD, Lowes, Walmart etc. have their potted plants in. Most of those stores will give you the trays if you ask. Get you soil wet and place in the tray...sow your seeds and then cover with a very light dusting of the potting mix (dry) and then lightly pat it down. Don't over water but don't let them dry out during or after germination. You really have to keep an eye on them. If we start getting too much rain you might have to cover them or bring them in until the rain passes.

This method has worked for me. I'm sure that others will have more suggestions and maybe I'll learn something too.

I like the Jiffy pellets that are dry and expand when you wet them. I set them in the trays like laura mentions. I drop a couple of seeds in each. I keep mine inside where they get some light but not too much until they start coming up. When they are an inch or so high I take them outside and set them on my bakers rack in the shade. They stay there until they are ready for me to plant in the garden or pots. Key is to not forget about them and I usually spritz them several times a day to keep them moist.

You might still be able to find some of the pellets around now but they usually disappear once the stores sell out since they don't reorder them. I wish they would get them in the fall when we need them for the winter flowers. I usually grab a few extra bags of them to use in the fall.

I've turned a thousand seeds into plants in the last 12 months and this is what I do:
-Use seed starter mix from big box store. Especially good for small seeds which have trouble with regular potting mix
-Pour a bunchof mix into a bowl/bucket and thoroughly wet it before filling up a plastic pot (small).
-Plant seeds no deeper than the size of the seed. Big seeds go as deep as their largest measurement. Bitty seeds just sprinkle on top and press down firmly into the wet mix.
-Put your pots into a ziplok and in a shady location. Check them every 1-2 days for green sprouts.
-When you see green take them out of the bag ASAP and leave in shade for 1-2 days then put in part sun 1-2 days then full sun (if they are a sun-lover).
-Don't plant too many seeds at once, as I always do, because it is very hard to pull the extras and you'll have too many seedlings which turn into plants.
-After the seedlings have 2 leaves or more you can ease them out of the pot (I turn the pot on it's side and tap) so you can move each seedling to it's second home. Never hold a seedling by it's stem, only by it's leaf, then replant it deeper than it was originally. I usually put 3-6 seedlings in a 4" pot to grow up to a size large enough to either plant in the garden or move to a larger pot. The soil in this pot can be regular potting mix (not garden soil--too heavy).
-Yes it's tedious but I love growing from seed. I have plants I couldn't have any other way and I've saved a lot of money. Some people direct seedsow into their garden beds but I tend to forget where I put the seeds and then dig them up planting something else.

P.S. I know many people use the jiffy pots and pellets but I've tried many times and they just dry out too fast on me and kill my seedlings.

My 2 cents.
Denise