Did you try popping the bubbles with a pin and then smoothing it out? Just like a blister - LOL

Or use a single edge razor blade and cut a small slit in the direction of the "wood" grain. Less visible afterward than some pin holes.

As for "doing it right", I'd check online for advice from the manufacturers. I don't like Contact Paper very much, so I have only limited experience with it. But I'd cut bigger than the area to be covered and trim afterwards, since it's hard to position AND then to smooth perfectly. I'd peel only one corner and use blue painter's tape to secure another to hold it in position while working. I'd very slowly peel the backing away while smoothing small areas at a time, first the starter corner, then across to the other top corner, then in small increments moving down the sheet. I'd try really hard to not stretch the "paper" and to make sure one side was secured before moving slowly across to the other, so the air trapped can be coaxed out as you go.

Good luck!

Peel it up and start over. Bubbles don't come out.

Draw a line along the top of the cabinet with a pencil. You can tape the paper in place, but only peel the top left (or right) corner first. Peel a little, burnish a little - the side of your hand will do - all the while making sure the paper stays aligned with the pencil line. If you see a bubble forming, lift the paper a bit and smooth it out before going any further.

Prick with a pin, then ease out the air with a credit card, sweeping in and around towards the hole until it lies flat, then smooth over entire area with card to make sure the stickiness is tight and the pinhole is smooth and totally flat.
It is better to apply the contact paper carefully, with the credit card method or hard but giving straight edge, making sure there are no air pockets as you go, but this is a good fix for an oops
.

It's the same as installing vinyl letters. You can use a credit card, a pastry scraper, or a tool made especially for burnishing. THe key is to only pull the backing away in small increments,like an inch at a time, and burnish as you go.

I've used it a lot over the years. Sticking down from left to right and smoothing as you go is what worked for me. Sometimes having to peel back the section and re-apply. Careful not to distort the pattern...since it's plastic-y it can stretch easy. I've always purchased more than I needed knowing how hard it is to work with. The last time I wanted to line kitchen shelves I went with shelf liner. I don't like it as well as the smooth surface of contact paper (when it works!) but it's much easier to install.

Window film is even worse. It took me a lot of rolls to get that right. It's the same sticky only to frost windows. They recommend using dampening under the cling with window cleaner. When it dries it makes it more taut and sometimes helps with bubbles. I used a pin with that since the bubbles were easier to see.

I bet someone on YouTube might have a trick! Good luck!

I've never had luck or any measure of success using large areas of adhesive-backed sheets of plastic/vinyl, except when they are in smaller pieces. If the above suggestions don't work, maybe you could consider doing a collage of various contact paper prints instead? Or maybe just remove the cabinet doors altogether (stashing them away safely) and hang fabric where ever you'd like coverage?

You could have avoided the bubbles by spraying the surface with water before adding the contact sheet. It gives you a little slack before it is completely dried. Allows you to stick and re-stick, you can push and slide it for several minutes before it is settled. Try it, if you've decided to redo it.

If not, pop it like a blister just as mentioned in previous comments.

Instead of using your hand to smooth, use a sponge or a towel (I use my hand in an athletic sock) and rub in circles, not back and forth

if you add a little soap to the water it will work even better.

Are you going to take the paper down when you leave? Contact Paper leaves behind a serious sticky residue. You will have to use a bottle of Goo-Gone to get it off. Been there, done that.

The best way to avoid bubbles in any sort of adhesive application is to start in the middle and work your way to the edges, smoothing along the way.

I've used contact paper on a lot of projects, and it always happens to me with the big pieces, no matter how I apply it. The only solution I've ever found is to poke the bubbles with a pin or score them with a razor blade and press them flat.

When I helped some friends put shelf liner in cabinets, I came up with a way to cut the backing paper at the halfway point and remove half of it. (I pinched it loose and ran my scissors under it). That way, I had half sticky and half covered and it was easier to place it correctly. You could even do 1/3 sticky and 2/3 covered. That way, as I peeled away the paper, I was able to smooth it out. I don't know if it's clear. Maybe I need to do a YouTube video of my technique?

Like the commentators above, I'd recommend soapy water if the contact paper was vinyl-like.

The reason the water works is that water doesn't compress like air. When you try to squeegee out air, it compresses and doesn't move. Water, however, can be pushed.

I'd also recommend a felt block, rather than a plastic squeegee- they can rip the contact paper if enough pressure is put on them.

When I have mounted art with spray adhesive in the past, my best friend has always been the soft rubber brayer. I find them way handy for a bunch of different crafts, and it sounds like they would be really helpful for this. Maybe in combination with poking small holes as others have suggested? Or if you pull it up and reapply it, I would dddddddefinitely use a brayer during that process. It should significantly up your odds of being bubble-free.

I would say just peel it up and try again. When you peel that first inch or two off, either cut it or fold it down very flat. If it's in the way when you stick the contact paper on the cabinet, it will not go on flat, causing bubbles. Don't tape it up as this gives you no wiggle room as you peel the paper off and smooth it down. Do your best to line up the edge and stick it down, then smooth down the middle and out to the sides in very small increments. A brayer is helpful but not necessary. If you have someone to help you, they can run any sort of straight edged object (like a metal yardstick, or a level), down the contact paper as you peel and it will go on perfectly. Sorry if that's confusing.

Speaking from experience, the blade method works best.
The key for me is to cut a very clean, small, straight line and then burnishing carefully towards the slit on both sides to let the air out. Once the bubble is gone, I take a plastic spoon or something smooth to burnish the "wound" flat.

I love contact paper for their faux wood prints. I've recently covered all 6 drawer fronts of the Ikea Alex unit in it and they look amazing :)

I agree with the above comment. The way I like to do it is to peel off a small section so I can stick down about a 4 inch strip to anchor it, burnish that section with a plastic spreader like this one http://www.dickblick.com/products/awt-plastic-spreaders/
Then I pull the rest of the paper-backing parallel to the sticking surface so the contact paper is as flat as possible, and burnish towards the pull in 1-2 inch strip sections at a time. So it goes like this; pull, burnish, pull, burnish.... until you've pulled all the paper off.
I find it much faster and easier than trying to align a fully peeled large piece of contact that's curling in on itself and sticking to everything. It's also easier to fix since you're doing sections at a time. Don't pull until the peeled section is clear of bubbles.

Hope that helps.