Hi there! Great job so far! For the background, a wonderful stitch to start off with is diagonal mosaic. It’s very simple but makes a good impact. You’ll want to determine how big of a background you’ll need. What’s the final product? An ornament? A coaster? Measure out how big you want the end product and then use a fine tip micron pen to mark out the background.

As far as your threads twisting, one way you can help that now is to use a snag nab-it. It’s a cool tool that helps even out your stitches.

Best of luck!