A SUMMER PAINTED WITH LOVE AND PIZZA

“This summer, I didn’t take you anywhere far, just simple moments together at the beach, sharing pizza, watching you run carefree under those brilliant red and orange blooms. … 🌺 Summer officially ended with this vibrant painting you created, your way of thanking me for making your summer shimmer like a picture-perfect canvas. Goodbye to our wonderful summer, hello to the new school year with hearts that are..reluctant to let go. Thank you Pizza 4P’s for adding such flavor and color to our summer memories.✨”

When we first read this message from one of the submissions for Color Your Summer Contest, someone in our office smiled the brightest they had all week. It wasn’t the eloquence that moved us, but how perfectly it captured what we’d witnessed unfold over two months: how the smallest acts of creativity paint the biggest memories.

This summer began with discarded pizza boxes: cardboard destined for recycling bins. We wondered: what if we gave them a second chapter? What if families transformed them into something beautiful together? The concept seemed straightforward: order pizza, save the box, create art.

We never anticipated the avalanche of stories that accompanied each submission.

From tiny hands carefully coloring their first masterpiece to multi-generational family art sessions around the dining table, each submission told a story of togetherness. We saw the pool painted in sunset hues, colors blooming with imagination. Every brushstroke, every crayon mark, every splash of paint reminded us why we started this journey in the first place, because the most beautiful moments happen when people come together.

These are more than just contest entries we received. They’re glimpses into living rooms where parents put down their phones. Kitchen tables where siblings worked together instead of fighting. Quiet afternoons where kids discovered they could create something from nothing, and parents remembered what it felt like to play.

Each box carried its own narrative. The chaotic ones celebrated pure expression, paint splatters and crayon strokes wandering far beyond boundaries, exactly as they should. The meticulous pieces revealed patience and devotion, families spending hours perfecting every tiny detail. Our favorites, though, bore the marks of multiple creators: different artistic styles and generational perspectives blending into something entirely original.

We’ve been making pizza since 2011, watching families gather around our tables, seeing how food creates these moments of connection. But this summer showed us something new, that creativity works the same way. Give people a blank canvas, even if it’s cardboard, and they’ll fill it with love.

Summer’s ending, but these stories aren’t. They’re the kind that get passed down, that become “remember when” moments years from now. The kind that makes ordinary Tuesday evenings feel special.

Thank you for welcoming us into your summer adventures, for demonstrating that art requires neither expensive materials nor professional studios, only people who cherish one another and dare to create something beautiful together.

Here’s to the artists in every family, and to many more colorful adventures ahead.