  Quasi-brittle behavior where macroscopic failure is preceded by stable
damaging and intensive cracking activity is a desired feature of materials
because it makes fracture predictable. Based on a fiber bundle model with
global load sharing we show that blending strength and stiffness disorder of
material elements leads to the stabilization of fracture, i.e. samples which
are brittle when one source of disorder is present, become quasi-brittle as a
consequence of blending. We derive a condition of quasi-brittle behavior in
terms of the joint distribution of the two sources of disorder. Breaking bursts
have a power law size distribution of exponent 5/2 without any crossover to a
lower exponent when the amount of disorder is gradually decreased. The results
have practical relevance for the design of materials to increase the safety of
constructions.
