I love crocheting,it is very easy too do after you have mastered a few things.
here I will show you a few basic things when crocheting after you have learned how to actually crochet.

Step 1: The Needles

here are my needles, starting at 9 mm and ending at 1 mm.
the 9 mm needle is very useful when making socks and hats.
the 1 mm makes the cutest little animals!
one important thing is to make sure you don't have a too big a hook or too small.
all you have to do is look on the yarn paper and it should say the mm.
second pic, 3 sc with the 9 mm

third pic,3 sc with the 1 mm

Step 2: Yarns

I would personally take the cotton over anything else, it is very easy to work with and has a nice texture.
the acrylic is ok, I used it to make a sheep. it has a tougher texture and wont break easily.
the soft acrylic is very nice, I made a teddy bear out of it. it has a very soft texture and will break very easily.
the baby acrylic is probably the hardest to work with , it has no stretch at all and makes tight stitches.is very soft , though.
the embroidery is nice, it is what I used to make the mushroom ring.

Step 3: Handy Items.

one thing to make crocheting easier is to have these three things when you need them:

scissors: wouldn't you rather use scissors then having to rip the yarn with your hands?
embroidery thread: makes really nice eyes ,noses and paws!
non-sharp needle: for closing ends, making joints.

Step 4: Cute Deco

here are some really cute decoration ideas.

sequins: I used them to make fish scales
glass beads: I used them to make eyes
buttons: can be used for eyes and anything you can think of.
baby buttons: can be used as buttons sense they are so small
flowers: I used them on a hippo amigurumi doll as hair bows

there are hundreds of things you can use them on, you just have to use your imagination!!