The latest release has a lot of new things to discover, and I'd like to leave the information provided to players to a minimum to give them a chance to experience it for themselves.
I'm creating this thread though in case anyone gets stuck and need a little extra info. Some general hints below in spoiler boxes, for portions I think might be particularly sticky, so you can open them as appropriate.
First, a couple of general non-spoilery tips:
-Try combining each of the materials you gain access to early on in the crafting grid. There are a lot of new things to craft.
-For later game crafting recipes, smoothstone has replaced cobblestone in almost all cases.
Very early game / first tools:
-Tying one ingredient to another may be a useful crafting technique.
A little later on when you might be wondering how to proceed:
-An oven may not be the only way to harden brick.
Once you start smelting some iron:
-If you manage to make a simple iron tool, try using it on a tree stump.
Post-nether, if you're wondering how to gain access to some block types:
-Isolating some blocks from their neighbors may allow you to harvest them intact, if you have the right tools.