In 2013, Anita Rooney, who studied graphic design at University of Maryland in College Park, was working as a web designer for Florida Gulf Coast University when she made her first cake pops.

“I don’t know how I started,” she says. “I must have seen them on the internet and said, ‘I’m going to give them a try.’”

Rooney discovered that cake pops are a real crowd-pleaser—coworkers and friends were delighted to receive her creations.

“I’d bring cake pops to the office and everyone was just super-psyched when they got them,” she says. “You could see their whole faces light up when they got one.”

After meeting her husband, a tugboat captain on the Inner Harbor, Rooney moved back to her hometown. She continued to make cake pops and, three years ago, transformed her hobby into a business she now calls Nina’s Cake Pops (her dad nicknamed her “niña,” which means girl in Spanish).

Through the years, her creations have run the gamut, including a space-man series inspired by a Kardashian birthday party she saw on Instagram, billiard balls for a pool lover, and even Katy Perry’s face inspired by her “California Gurls” song.

“The pastel color palettes get the most response because they’re ethereal,” says Rooney.

The cake pop artist uses basic cake mix but doctors it up with proprietary-blend extract. She has also perfected her process and makes her product with increased sophistication, using high-quality Stover chocolate and oil-based food coloring imported from Australia to help achieve vibrant hues, while also investing in an EcoTank printer that uses edible ink that allows for more intricate detail.

“A cake maker only has to make the cake once,” notes Rooney. “I have to make individual cakes up to 30 times over.”