H'mm Michelleoc, to me your puppies look like a wall hanging. I would "hang" it in the room where it will be shown. The colors in the room will help determine how much to brighten it with borders & sashing. Secondly: how BIG do you want the completed quilt to be? Start with your Outer border, whether you use a very busy print, or a solid, or a neutral. Then you could do a very narrow (half inch wide) framing of each puppy, then determine your sashing, by laying your squares against some solid fabric, and looking at each for a week or so... auditioning the various colors. You may find that the brights are very off-putting, and go with a soft color. And I think one puppy needs a little smile.