Ah this must be the photos for the other thread I just read...:wink:
If you want to try the blue background, I would suggest you get a poster sized piece so you can have it encompass the whole background instead of just part of it. The dividing line between white and blue distracts from your subject: the pen.
I would recommend you stick with an all-white or gray (preferably) background until you get more familiar with your setup. Gray is best because it's more neutral in color so it doesn't throw off your camera's readings as much while you're getting everything dialed in. Once you get some consistency, then you can experiment with lighter or darker or different colors, where you'll need to adjust your cameras settings to accommodate the differences, but have recordings of your settings from the neutral gray basics to fall back on.
For the focus, you'll need to ensure your camera is focusing on the pen and not something else in the background as it appears to have done on the blurry one. If you have the ability to do manual focus, I recommend it over auto, as you don't have to worry about a slight shift in the camera angle causing it to focus someplace other than where you want it.
Make sure to play with the white balance settings on the camera and get it adjusted to compensate for the color of your lighting so you get natural colors in your image. Although this allows you to compensate for the type of bulbs you're using (incandescent, fluorescent, etc.) the closer to "daylight" (6500K & above) color, the better IMHO.