Moonpi has a great plan and it sounds like it will work out great. However, if you don't want to do a quilt that big...(your lions seem huge in the pic), you might consider cutting them apart... and do a lap quilt (or 2). I made my grandmother a lap quilt so she could cover up in her wheel chair...the place where she lives keeps it cool for people her age when they can't get up and move around. Sorry...got sidetracked :oops:
Anyway...make the lion the center and work with adding a couple of borders around the edges of varying widths. Quilt the darkest lines on the lion's face and it will turn out beautiful!